On the second pitch of the game, Colin Larson (Boston College) launched a home run so far over the right field wall that Landon Beaver (UAB) could only watch. Three batters later, Harwich held a 3-0 lead after Adam McKelvey (Georgia Tech) gave up a single and two doubles. Cotuit could have folded and accepted defeat. Instead, they rattled off eight unanswered runs and took the win from the Mariners 8-4.
Resilience was the name of the game in every aspect for the Kettleers, with nobody embodying it more than McKelvey. Coach Rob Cooper trusted him to stay out there after the first inning, and McKelvey made sure he did not let his coach down. The southpaw allowed just two more hits, throwing three shutout innings to keep Cotuit in the game.
“Coach Curtin and Coach Coop have really preached mental toughness,” McKelvey said. “Just not letting those four batters affect my outing and instead focusing on the next pitch was my mindset.”
Even after he left the game, the bullpen had McKelvey’s back. Luke Smyers (Alabama) and Eli Buxton (Arizona State) both entered the day with earned run averages above five, but did not let their past performances define them. The reliever pair threw a combined five shutout innings, allowing just three hits while fanning five. Their effort ensured that once the Kettleers got the lead in the third inning it remained that way.
But the Kettleers also displayed resilience at the plate. Cotuit had just one hit during their first time through the lineup, instead relying on free passes from Harwich. Instead of continuing to rely on their opponent’s mistakes, the Kettleers went on to get 11 more hits and piled on eight runs between the second and fourth innings.
Noah Coy (Notre Dame) was the lone Cotuit man to get a hit in the first go-around, and he made quite a bit of noise at Lowell Park Thursday. The middle infielder had potentially the best hitting performance of any Kettleer all season, going 4/4 with five RBIs. The hallmark moment of the day came in the fourth inning when Coy blasted a ball over the right field wall, scoring three and giving Cotuit their first home run at Lowell Park all season.
“I feel like I’m getting myself into advantage counts and making pitchers pay for it…” Coy said. “Trusting my approach has really helped my swing work itself out the last few games.”
But it was not just Coy who contributed to the Kettleer offense Thursday. J.J. Moran (Stanford) reached base in all four of his at-bats, including three singles and an RBI on another hard groundball that was misplayed by the Mariner defense. The adjustment from metal to wood bats has taken time for Kettleer hitters, but as the team enters the back half of the season they have started to see the bats get hot.
The Kettleers have now won consecutive games, which is the first time this has occurred since the opening two games of the 2026 season. Baseball is baseball, and things can change very quickly, but Cotuit is now playing some of the most complete baseball they have all season.
“We’re a tight-knit group, and I feel like we’re really talented,” Coy said. “Coach told us to play free and trust our talent and that’s helped us play complete baseball the last couple days.”
The Kettleers go back on the road for their next game Friday when they take on Orleans. First pitch at Eldredge Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT, and the projected starting pitcher for Cotuit is Jacob Burnham (Boston College).
