Cotuit, Mass. – You could feel the energy in the air on Wednesday afternoon at Lowell Park when the Bourne Braves took the field against the hometown Cotuit Kettleers. There was still bitterness in the mouths of the Cotuit faithful following last year’s series loss to Bourne. There was a chance to avenge that loss and it started Wednesday when the Kettleers outlasted the Braves, 3-2, in a thrilling pitchers' duel.

The saying “big-time players step up in big games” reigned true as Cotuit was led by a pitching masterclass from Cullen McKay (Coastal Carolina) and Ryan Buckler (Florida Atlantic). Both tossed a combined nine innings of two-run baseball, including five shutout frames from Buckler.

“There’s a book that says if all else fails, then compete, and we failed the previous week, coach Roberts did a horrible job coaching,” Cotuit head coach Mike Roberts said. “The playoffs brought some competition back in them and you could see that today. Our guys competed very well and so did Bourne, but we were able to pull it out in the end.”

It seemed like McKay was in trouble in the first inning as he allowed runners at the corners with one out. However, a late position change with the Kettleer infielders put Jarren Advincula (California) in the perfect spot to turn a double play, which he did. Getting his pitcher out of the first frame unscathed.

The Cotuit bats came out in the bottom of the inning and did the same thing, only the Ketts were on the pleasant side of things. A wild pitch allowed Brandon Compton (Arizona State) to stroll home and put the home side up by a run.

Nothing was doing in the second, but the Braves pulled small-ball out of their back pocket in the third inning. Chris Stanfield (LSU) found his way on third with one out via a walk, stolen base and sac bunt. He ended up scoring on an RBI single by Marek Houston (Wake Forest) that would tie it at one run apiece.

Cotuit would counter that in the fourth inning when they had two runners in scoring position courtesy of back-to-back walks and a sac bunt. Another wild pitch by Chase Meyer (West Virginia) led to a run, and then Advincula did what he always does, collect a base knock. This one drove in Charles Davalan (Arkansas) to give the Ketts a little bit of cushion, going up 3-1.

“It’s just another game, I’ve been doing this all summer and I’m going to continue it until we win this thing,” Advincula said. “There’s obviously nerves to big-time games like this, but I believe in the work that I put in and it’s been working.”

McKay was pulled for Buckler in the fifth with runners at the corners at no outs. The future FAU Owl would collect three straight outs, only allowing one run to score and preserving Cotuit’s lead.

McKay’s final line was two runs, three walks and three hits allowed to go along with four strikeouts in four frames.

Both bullpens were lockdown for the next three innings, but Cotuit had a chance to add some insurance in the eighth.

Luke Hanson (Virginia) drew a leadoff walk followed by a Compton double to put pressure on the Bourne reliever, Justin West (Louisville). After a lineout, the Braves would intentionally walk Tanner Thach (UNC Wilmington) to load the bases with only one out.

The Kettleers were unable to make anything of the opportunity, with a lineout and groundout to end the eighth inning.

With the top of the ninth coming up, people wondered if Buckler would continue, and he did just that.

“I felt that if Buckler was on the mound, then we were going to win,” Roberts said. “I wasn’t going to take him out, I didn’t even talk to him heading into the ninth inning.”

The right-handed hurler answered the bell in dominant fashion, going 1-2-3 on 11 pitches to lock up a 3-2 Ketts victory in Game 1 of the West Division Championship. Buckler finished his day only allowing two base runners and striking out four through five innings of work.

“I threw strikes today and just tried to pound the zone,” Buckler said. “That was my biggest issue in the spring, so I came in today just trying to go at hitters. The environment today was awesome; I loved every bit of it. When I was in the NECBL it was cool but nothing like this.”

Notes

Advincula collected two base hits Wednesday in the win over Bourne. He’s now 5-for-7 with two RBI in the first two playoff games.

With the win Wednesday, Cotuit has beaten Bourne in a postseason game for the first time since Aug. 6, 2021.

McKay and Buckler tossed all nine innings by themselves. With Roberts only using those two, that’s the fewest number of pitchers that the Kettleers have used all season.

Looking ahead

On Thursday, the Kettleers will travel to Doran Park to play the Bourne Braves at 6 p.m. With a win, Cotuit will punch its ticket to the CCBL Championship Series against Y-D or Harwich. If the Ketts lose, they’ll come back to Lowell Park on Friday in a winner-take-all third game.