With two runners on and no outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Wareham Gatemen were in prime position to mount a comeback against the Cotuit Kettleers. No strangers to comebacks, the fact that they trailed only by two runs wasn’t intimidating.
What quickly became intimidating, however, was Cotuit’s closer. Cam Schuelke (Mississippi State) entered the game and, after allowing a base hit and a walk, promptly shut down the Gatemen by inducing two weak fly balls and firing in a strikeout to end the game.
“That’s a tough arm to face,” manager Ryan Smyth said. “That’s why he was in that spot. But we did make something happen there, we had a shot right there at the end. It just came down to some defensive plays early in the game.”
In a way, it was a mini snapshot of Wareham’s game; the 4-2 loss was characterized by stranded base runners and weak hits. Gatemen fielding struggled as well Saturday night, bobbling ground balls and recording three errors. Only two of Cotuit’s runs were marked as earned, as it capitalized on multiple Gatemen miscues throughout the evening.
Both earned runs were charged to starter Braeden Sloan, who worked four innings for the Gatemen. The left-hander struck out five batters and walked just one, but one faulty inning in the bottom of the fourth defined the night as the Kettleers put up three runs on a combination of base hits and throwing errors. The only other Cotuit run came in the bottom of the sixth inning, on a throwing error from catcher Jacob Jarrell (Clemson).
The two Gatemen runs came courtesy of Jarrell and Jace Rinehart (West Virginia) in the top of the third and sixth innings, respectively. Jarrell took advantage of a wild pitch and Rinehart recorded an RBI groundout to bring Murf Gray (Fresno State) home, but in both situations the Gatemen were unable to find any momentum.
In his debut with the Gatemen, Max Williams (FSU) notched two hits, as did Jarrell. Wareham and Cotuit each put seven hits up on the board, but only one team was able to capitalize on its chances.
With the loss, Wareham and Cotuit are now tied for first place in the Cape Cod West Division, both at 9-4 on the season. Saturday night marks the first time the Gatemen have lost back-to-back games this season, but spirits are still high in the dugout. Wareham pitchers and hitters alike left Lowell Park in Cotuit knowing they can compete until the very end, and are still set up for success in the future.
“We have arms available and hitters know we’re ready to go tomorrow,” Smyth said. “They don’t like this feeling, so we want to go back to what we were doing before.”
The Gatemen have another chance to start up a win streak Sunday when they host the Falmouth Commodores at Spillane Field.
