Cotuit, Mass. – It was beginning to be crunch time for Cotuit when Tyler Cerny stepped into the box with two on, one out and the Kettleers down three in the bottom of the fourth. The Hoosier was fooled in his first at-bat and flew out, but not this time.

Cerny mashed a first-pitch fastball that went way over the left-field wall, tying the ballgame at three apiece. After a rough two-week span where he only collected five hits, that game-tying bomb forced a smile upon the shortstop’s face while he rounded third to celebrate his 385-foot home run.

“It felt amazing, I had been working on my swing the last two weeks so to feel that ball come off the bat, I knew it was gone and it felt awesome,” said Cerny on his home run. “I knew he was throwing a high 80s MPH fastball a good bit and I had just missed it during my last at-bat. So, when I saw it on the first pitch of my second at-bat, I recognized it immediately and was able to get a good swing off and crush it.”

That moment was monumental in the ballgame as it was followed by Cotuit finishing the comeback at home, beating the Chatham Anglers 8-5.

When the game started, Chatham was getting to Aidan Hunter (College of Charleston) early and often, plating three runs through the first four frames. However, Cerny’s home run very quickly quieted the Anglers side who had begun chirping back and forth with the Cotuit dugout

The Cerny homer was great, but it wouldn’t take much time for Chatham to reclaim the lead as Chayton Krauss (Dallas Baptist) hit his second home run of the game during the fifth inning. This one was a two-run shot to put his side up 5-3 and this time it was the Kettleer dugout who went quiet.

Cotuit continued to chip away at the deficit, which started with a Devin Taylor (Indiana) RBI double to score Easton Winfield (Texas) in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, Cotuit pitcher Luis Misla (Suny Cortland) had a tough task to overcome, runners at the corners with no outs. Luckily for the Kettleers, the Southpaw did his job to a T, recording three straight outs and two being strikeouts.

With the sun beginning to settle in the bottom of the seventh, it was do-or-die for the Ketts since the umpires could call the game due to darkness at any time. Brandon Compton (Arizona State) made sure that the sun would not set with Cotuit being behind in the score column.

His clutch single plated Nathan Hall (South Carolina) from third and once again, tied the game up.

It was a group effort from Misla and Zach Duenas (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville), but they sat the Chatham lineup down 1-2-3 to allow Cotuit to win it. The Ketts put up a three spot in the eighth inning, highlighted by Taylor’s go-ahead double which erupted the Cotuit faithful.

Shortly after the third Kettleer run scored, the umpires assembled and ruled the sky too dark to continue play. Ending an exciting ballgame where Cotuit completed the comeback, downing Chatham 8-5.

“When Luis [Misla] picked the runner off at first base our dugout was fired up and that gave us new life,” says Cotuit head coach Mike Roberts. “Then Zach Duenas came in and I don’t know much about Zach because he’s new. But he was exceptional and really gave us a chance to win the game in the bottom of the eighth. Just a great team effort all around from everyone.”

Notes

With another solid defensive performance today, Jarren Advincula (Cal Berkeley) has yet to record an error in his 26 games as a starter.

With his 3-for-4 performance, Tanner Thach is batting .455 with four home runs, nine RBI and a 1.459 OPS over the last two weeks.

Both Indiana Hoosiers, Tyler Cerny and Devin Taylor, turned in a heroic performance. Combining for three hits, two runs scored and five RBI.

Looking ahead

Cotuit will finish its third and final game of the homestand against the Wareham Gatemen on Friday at 5 PM ET. Both teams are tied for first in the Western Division with 17-9-1 records, so the winner tomorrow will take sole possession of first place in the West. That game is followed by a road contest against Chatham on Saturday and a home game against Y-D on Sunday before the Ketts get a well-deserved day off on Monday.