CHATHAM, Mass. — If someone had to describe the Kettleers’ game against the Anglers in one word, it would probably be “eventful.” From celebrating with Airheads Xtremes to a power outage that delayed the game in the sixth inning, the game featured a little bit of everything.
What it featured a lot of were home runs, with Cotuit recording one and Chatham notching three as the Anglers clinched an 8-5 victory Wednesday in Chatham.
The Kettleers’ homer came in the fourth inning courtesy of Jake Hanley (Georgia). It marked his third of the season and gave Cotuit a 2-0 lead.
“I couldn't really tell you what prompted me to swing, but I just jumped on it and made good contact, and it flew,” Hanley said.
When asked if he knew the ball would go out, he said, "I had a feeling.”
Hanley is familiar with Veteran’s Field, as he played for Chatham in 2025. He said it was nice to return even though the game didn’t go Cotuit’s way.
“You get used to the field and the surroundings and playing this late at night, so it’s good to come back,” Hanley said. “We put together a game. It didn't go our way in the end, but it was fun.”
One of the more fun moments for the Kettleers came after Hanley’s home run. He ran back toward the dugout where he was greeted by several of his teammates. Owen Paino (Ole Miss) and Chase Kroberger (Alabama) awarded Hanley with a pack of Airheads Xtremes.
“I just committed to Georgia out of the portal, and their big home run celebration is sour strips from Buc-ee’s, so Owen went to the gas station and got some,” Hanley said. “He’s like, ‘If you get (a home run), you get something,’ and I ended up getting one. It was funny. I liked it a lot.”
The Kettleers fed off the momentum, recording three singles in a row in the same inning. The third came off the bat of Jayce Lee (Notre Dame) and drove in Cotuit’s third run.
Chatham’s Nolan Traeger (Texas Christian) whacked a homer of his own in the sixth inning to cut the Anglers’ deficit to 3-2. As Traeger rounded the bases, the lights at Veteran’s Field shut off.
The atmosphere shifted from excitement to confusion. Fans were left in the dark, literally, as they sat in the stands with no clear idea of when the game would restart.
“I thought when they hit the home run, it was one of those light shows,” Cotuit coach Rob Cooper said. “But no, it was just a power outage.”
Hanley experienced something similar at Indiana back in April, so he felt less concerned about the situation.
“The timing was really awkward, but (it was) nothing new,” he said. “I knew the lights would take a little bit to turn back on and we’d get playing again. No biggie.”
The delay lasted about 15 minutes. Eventually, the lights flickered back on, and so did Chatham’s hope. The Anglers recorded five hits in the seventh inning to claim a 7-3 lead. Traeger smashed his second homer of the game before Harlin Hovater (Meridian CC) left the yard himself.
Though Cotuit added two runs in the eighth with RBI singles from Noah Coy (Notre Dame) and Jesse DiMaggio (Dallas Baptist), it was too little, too late. Chatham added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame as the Anglers powered ahead of the Kettleers.
Despite the result, Cooper found a bright spot within his team’s performance. The Kettleers recorded 13 hits to Chatham’s eight, with five different players earning at least two. JJ Moran (Stanford) led the way with three: a double in the second inning and singles in the fourth and eighth.
“We're starting to see guys put together good at-bats (and) relax a little bit,” Cooper said, “so (there was) a lot of good offensively today.”
Cotuit takes a rest day before facing the Commodores at 6 p.m. EDT on Friday in Falmouth.
