On June 26 Cotuit hosted Orleans. Falling down early, the Kettleers had to rally with three runs in the seventh inning to snatch victory from the Firebirds. One month later, Cotuit hosted Orleans and again fell behind multiple runs in the early innings. Yet again, the Kettleers responded with a comeback. However, this time it was not enough as the Firebirds stormed ahead for an 8-4 win off the back of a four-run eighth inning.
The decisive inning came at the expense of Mason Holloway (Binghamton) and Aidan Healy (Navy). Holloway started the inning and was charged with all four earned runs as his control waned toward the end of his 3.1 inning appearance.
Three walks to start the frame pressured Cotuit early before a Garrett Larsen (Yale) squeeze bunt led to a tiebreaking run for the Firebirds. From there, the floodgates opened. First a Rowan Kelly (Santa Barbara) double, then Dominic Cadiz (UCLA) grounded into fielder’s choice, and finally a sacrifice fly from Adrian Beltre Jr. (San Diego). Before one could blink the score went from 3-3 to 7-3. Healy put an end to the run, but not before the damage mounted high.
While this was the defining charge of the game, it was not the only time Orleans put up runs. Landen Doll (Marshall) did a great job limiting damage for Cotuit in the first four innings, but let in one run in the third. A walk and a Cadiz double put ducks on the pond with no outs, and Beltre made them pay with a sacrifice fly.
Two innings later, the Kettleers conceded a two-out rally that started with a hit-by-pitch of Beltre. Immediately after, CCBL home run leader Tyler Myatt (Tennessee) punished a baseball and earned himself an RBI double. The next batter, Casey Cumiskey (Southern New Hampshire) slapped a single to center field to make it 3-0.
Despite being down early, Cotuit was not out of the game just yet. A walk and a single to open the bottom of the sixth set the table for a big hit, which J.J. Moran (Stanford) supplied with a two-RBI double that one-hopped the right field wall. The next batter, Isaac Sturgess (Wake Forest) singled to left field to tie the game at three. The bats had no trouble supplying big hits for Cotuit today, and the team has started to pile on numerous extra-base hits in the last week.
“We’re starting to do some things we haven’t done all year like swing the bat for some big hits consistently,” Coach Rob Cooper said. “We just did not get it going enough to get the win today.”
But once they went down 7–3, the Kettleers lacked that same offensive firepower to come back. The teams traded a run a piece in the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth, but that was all Cotuit could put up.
All the classic symptoms of a Kettleer loss in 2026 popped up again. The offense struck out nine times and stranded four runners while the defense conceded 13 free passes. To cap it off, Cotuit lost their second consecutive game in the eighth inning or later. Bad habits die hard, and the Kettleers have yet to kill them off in game 34.
Cotuit has been in the playoff picture since the first game of the season. But after this loss, they are a Wareham win tonight away from falling to last place in the division with just six games to spare. With big divisional matchups ahead, the Kettleers will likely need multiple wins down the stretch to make the postseason. Cooper believes in his team, and knows they will represent the town of Cotuit well down the stretch.
“We want to continue to play and do the best we can for this community and win for this community,” Cooper said. “This team has what it takes to do that.”
All is not lost yet, as Cotuit will have a chance to fight back Tuesday at home against Hyannis. First pitch at Lowell Park is slated for 4:30 p.m. EST, with no starting pitcher being announced just yet.
