Falmouth (8-11-1) got itself to a solid start, pacing Cotuit (6-12-2) in the early portions of Wednesday evening’s contest, but the Kettleers began to heat up deeper into the game and pulled away from the Commodores.
Cotuit posted a four-run fourth inning and never looked back en route to claiming a six-run victory, but Falmouth newcomers Carter White (Mississippi State) and A.J. Putty (Illinois) were seeing the baseball well at the plate, finishing the day with two base hits and an RBI apiece.
Adam Urban (Minnesota) turned in a clean first three innings to start for the Commodores, navigating a bases loaded jam in the first and retiring six in a row between frames two and three.
But in the fourth, Cotuit started to hammer away, loading the bases and setting the table for a Jayce Lee (Notre Dame) sacrifice fly, an Issac Strugess (Michigan State) double and a Noah Coy (Notre Dame) single to surge itself in front, 4-0. Coy found himself another RBI in the sixth for the Kettleers’ fifth run.
On the bump, Jonathan Adelmann (Bucknell), Kyle Kipp (Boston College) and Dylan Wood (Georgia) combined for seven scoreless innings for the Kettleers, surrendering only five hits in that span. The eighth brought Falmouth its only two runs of the contest: a sacrifice fly off the bat of White to drive in Austin Mallee (transfer portal) followed by a base hit from Putty to score Brayden Jefferis (Michigan).
“[I was] just trying to do something that got the guys going,” said White on his eighth inning single. “So it [was] good to get a base hit up the middle.”
Unfortunately, a strikeout put an end to the rally, and Cotuit would drive the nail into the coffin with a trio of runs in the bottom of the eighth, then it shut the door on an emphatic victory to break a six-game losing streak.
For both new additions to the Commodore lineup, they found joy in playing the sport they love in wake of the loss. “I missed being out here,” said Putty. “[We] got some good hits and some good opportunities. I'm excited to move on, and hopefully we can get some wins after this.”
As is the theme of summer ball, Falmouth believes it can see success by staying the course. “It just wasn't our game,” White said. “[We] just keep the process [we have] at the plate.”
Putty and White kept things simple – much like Jefferis in his first game as a Commodore – in trying to see pitches and swing with confidence. As the ‘Dores batting average and, subsequently, their spot in the standings begins to trend downward, the pair could provide energy that the lineup needs as West Division teams ready themselves for a tight postseason race.
Falmouth will begin the second half of its season against second-place Hyannis on Thursday, July 9, at 6:00 p.m.
