BREWSTER, Mass. — Ahead of a stretch of eight games needed to be completed in seven days, the tone the Cotuit Kettleers would set for their playoff push was unclear as they held a 6-5 lead over the Brewster Whitecaps after three innings on Monday.

But once just the third nine-inning contest in a week was completed and the Kettleers pulled away for a 10-5 victory at Stony Brook Field behind clutch two-strike hitting and a combined effort of 6 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, Cotuit appears poised for the postseason.

“They really did a great job today, considering we hadn't played in two or three days since Friday. And I thought they battled like crazy,” Kettleers manager Mike Roberts said. “And as I told them after the game, the thing I liked the most was we were up six, and they scored five, and nobody blinked, and they just played the game the same way, and I thought that was the most important part of the game.”

Cotuit jumped out to a big lead by being unafraid of opposing conventional baseball wisdom. Despite Whitecaps starter Luke Guth (Vanderbilt) facing the minimum in the top of the first inning, the right-hander experienced control issues in his second inning of work — walking Devin Taylor (Indiana) and Charles Davalan (Arkansas) to begin the frame.

The free pass to Davalan came on four pitches, marking five consecutive pitches out of the strike zone when Matt Klein (Louisville) stepped in the box. Roberts and the Kettleers were still in attack mode, as the Cotuit backstop nestled a perfect bunt between the mound and third base line for a base hit to load the bases.

With three ducks on the pond, Jarren Advincula (Cal) sat fastball and saw one over the plate on the first offering from Guth, driving it into the right-center field gap past a diving Nick Dumesnil (Cal Baptist) for his first extra-base hit in July to score two. Tyler Cerny (Indiana) followed suit, dropping a double of his own just inside the right field line to plate Klein on a first-pitch fastball.

“I think the guys [swing] on their own. I've always told them to swing the bat,” Roberts said. “They can walk when they go to school, if they want to, but I like them to swing the bat.”

Already up 3-0 with no outs, the Kettleers batted around the order and added three more runs as their hit parade continued with two more base knocks by Nolan Nawrocki (South Carolina) and Tanner Thach (UNC Wilmington) before Levi Huesman (Vanderbilt) replaced Guth on the mound after recording the first out of the frame.

The southpaw couldn’t conquer his first batter faced after bequeathing runners on first and second, surrendering an RBI single to Brandon Compton (Arizona St.) to complete a six-run second inning once Taylor grounded into a double play to stop the bleeding for Brewster.

Although Cotuit never looked back from its 6-0 advantage, the Whitecaps made things interesting by taking their own tour through the order one inning later.

Kettleers starter Aidan Hunter (College of Charleston) ran into trouble of his own after facing the minimum through two frames, walking two and allowing four hits as Brewster pulled within a run on a Drew Faurot (Florida St.) single and throwing error tacked on to the play.

Hunter exited with the one-run cushion, giving way for Brycen Parrish (North Alabama) to escape the jam by inducing a lineout to left field by Dumesnil. From there, the contest became a pitching duel until the Kettleers could provide themselves breathing room.

Nawrocki did so in the top of the sixth inning as Huesman continued to carve his way through the Cotuit order until his fourth inning of work. Klein and Advincula reached safely to open the top of the sixth inning, setting up the best scoring chance all night against Huesman.

And just as the Kettleers have done all season, they hit with two strikes.

“We do talk a lot about two-strike hitting, and the guys have done a marvelous job with it,” Roberts said. “That's just kind of intensity, wanting to hit with two strikes, never giving in, battle, throw the bat at the ball, whatever you have to do.”

Nawrocki provided his second and third RBI of the evening by poking a 1-2 breaking ball into shallow left field to put Cotuit up 8-5, adding on to Cotuit’s CCBL-leading .184 batting average with two strikes. An inning later, Davalan recorded his own two-RBI hit down in the count up the middle to give the Kettleers double-digit runs on the board.

And with how the bullpen performed, the Whitecaps stood no chance. Parrish, Marcus Davenport (Stetson) and Zach Duenas (SIU Edwardsville) allowed just three hits while striking out six over the last two-thirds of the game to ensure Cotuit’s 21st win of the summer. At the start of a strenuous stretch of baseball, Cotuit utilized an economical arsenal of four arms to set the tone for the week.

“Every game you just want to play well and you hope to come out in the win column,” Roberts said. “But to start eight games in seven days with a win and to go home tomorrow, certainly that's positive.”

The Kettleers do not have a day off until Monday, continuing their end-of-season gauntlet Tuesday against the Harwich Mariners at Lowell Park at 4:30 p.m.

Thumbnail photo by Holden McBerty (Memphis).