COTUIT, Mass. — In Game 2 against Cotuit, it was a completely different offensive showing for the Braves.

After putting up 11 runs in the series opener on 15 hits, the Braves travelled to Lowell Park with a chance to reach the Championship Series for the fourth straight year under field manager Scott Landers.

In the Saturday afternoon tilt, it took until the sixth inning for Bourne to tally a hit, as the West Division Finals will head to a Game 3 after Cotuit outlasted the Braves, 9-1, after a big seventh inning.

Both sides had a runner in scoring position early, as Jack Natili (Cincinnati) found himself on second in the third after a walk, another free pass from Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma) and a force out hit by Zan Von Schlegell (St. Thomas), but nothing came to fruition.

The Braves met that same fate in the third, as Ryan Cooney (Oregon) reached via a walk and advanced to second on a groundout hit by Jon LeGrande (St. John’s), but he couldn’t cash in.

Then the first runs of the contest came via the bats of the Kettleers in the third. Luke Lavin (Stanford) trotted to first after a walk, then trotted home to score, as Camden Johnson (Oklahoma) sent a two-home run over the right field fence and head of Cal Sefcik (Cincinnati) to make it a 2-0 game.

After allowing the lone home run to Johnson, the day would come to an end for Quinn Holt (Utah Valley) as the starter in the fifth, finishing his day with 4 ⅔ innings pitched, totaling six walks, five strikeouts, three hits and two runs. Jack Brown (Louisville) subbed in for him.

The Kettleers matched the move of pulling the starter, as Ryan Buckler (FAU) was sent to the dugout with a round of applause from Cotuit fans after tossing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts and the same number of walks.

The no-hitter tossed by Buckler was broken up in the seventh, as Sebastian Mexico (Louisiana Tech) became the first Brave to reach on a hit via a single off of Chase Carson (Charlotte).

Cotuit then exploded in the seventh, loading the bases after a Ryne Farber (Auburn) single, infield single from Natili and free pass from Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma). An RBI single hit by Von Schlegell was first, followed by an RBI walk from Caden Bogenpohl (Missouri State).

The scoring spree was rounded out by an RBI one-base knock from Luke Matthews and an RBI sacrifice fly by Lavin, putting the Kettleers in front 6-0.

In the eighth, Bourne had its first runner in scoring position in the second after a Cooney triple, and then erased the goose egg from its tally on an RBI groundout from LeGrande, making the score read 6-1 in favor of Cotuit.

Then the Kettleers came right back in the bottom of the frame, as they had runners on second and third after Landon Beaver (UAB) was hit by a pitch and Natili ripped a double. The pair then scored on a double from Stevens. Stevens then came cruising in on an RBI double from Von Schlegell that escaped the glove of Sefick to give Coutit a 9-1 lead.

The score would end that way, as Carson closed it out for Cotuit in the ninth.

Bourne Braves Player of the Game

Cooney built off of his strong performance in Game 1, being one of two Braves to net a hit and being the solo player to score a run.

Key moment

After an offensive barrage in Game 1, a difference-maker in this one was the fact the Braves didn't record a hit until the seventh after posting 15 the night before.

A look ahead

Bourne will host Cotuit on Sunday at Doran Park in a win-or-go-home situation with an appearance in the Championship Series on the line.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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