The Cotuit Kettleers were in prime position for a late rally against Harwich Mariner pitcher Scott Doran. Struggling to find the strike-zone, Doran walked the first two batters in the seventh inning and fell behind 3-1 against pinch hitter Zan Von Schlegell.

Down 2-1, Cotuit was ready to scrape for a run. As both runners ran with the pitch, Von Schlegell pulled Doran’s pitch down the third base line.

Mariner third baseman Maddox Molony fielded the hard grounder, tagged third and fired to second. His throw beat Easton Winfield to second base. Recently added Sam DeCarlo quickly transferred the ball out of his glove and made the throw to first.

First baseman Kyle Wolff made the stretch as the ball hit his glove, completing the triple play.

“I saw the bull get pulled and I thought it might get through," DeCarlo When I saw Maddox field it, I knew right away, ‘Oh boy this could be a chance for a triple play.’”

Cotuit never got another guy in scoring position Friday night, as the Mariners won their second straight game as they head into the all-star break. It was Harwich’s third win over Cotuit this season.

The infielder from Washington wasted no time helping his new team pick up the win. Stepping up to the plate in the second inning, he laced a double into the right center gap. Niko Brini scored easily from second base, giving the Mariners the one-run lead.

After learning he was coming to the Cape on Monday, DeCarlo was relieved his first game went as well as it did.

“It's my first time at the Cape. It feels good to get the first one out of the way," DeCarlo said.

The newest additions to the roster, DeCarlo and catcher Trey Wells each got a hit and a RBI in their summer debuts this week.

Field manager Steve Englert, who has been a part of two triple-plays himself, was ecstatic to see his team pull-off one of the hardest defensive plays to complete.

“That was awesome,” Englert said. “That was a legit-triple play ball on the ground. We can plug guys in different positions, and they don’t miss a beat.”

Dee Kennedy scored the Mariners' first run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the first inning.

Johnson excels in first start of the summer

For the second straight night, the starting pitching for the Mariners went deep into the ball game.

Olin Johnson’s first start of the summer went better than expected. Entering the game with 5.68 ERA, he allowed just one earned run across five innings.

Cotuit stuck in the first inning. Camden Johnson hit a liner to right field that got by Aiden Robbins, allowing him to cruise into third base. He scored one batter later on a groundout to give Cotuit the 1-0 lead. The infielder recorded three of the four Cotuit hits on the night.

Johnson rebounded by striking out the side in the second inning. He finished with five punch outs. He credited a focused mindset to help him get through his longest outing of the year.

“I’m not trying to extend,” he said. “I’m just trying to get one guy at a time. I think that was the biggest thing that helped me.”

The UNC Tar Heels' performance pushed the Mariners into the break on a win-streak.

Moving forward:

Most of the Mariners will be off for the weekend. Seven Mariners will head to Red Wilson Saturday afternoon for the Cape League All-Star Game. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m.

Harwich will return Monday when it hosts Falmouth at Whitehouse Field. Gametime is 6:30 p.m.