Four days ago the Cotuit Kettleers and Chatham Anglers met under the bright lights of Veteran’s Field, where the Kettleers came out on top with a 8-2 victory. Thursday’s game was quite different however, as it was the Anglers who came out on top for their first victory of the season in a 17-2 mercy-rule affair.
The Anglers landed the first punch right off the bat, getting two runners in scoring position early from a walk and later a double from Connor Shouse (Texas Tech). Bino Watters (LSU) would deliver the lead though, hitting a sacrifice fly to score one run. They would double the lead in the second when Gabe Fraser (Florida State) smoked a solo shot over the right field wall.
Tristan Hunter (Missouri State) lived and died by big plays during his time on the mound. While he did strike out four batters during his two innings, he gave up loads of hard contact as well. Josh Halcisak (Transfer Portal) came in relief to start the third inning, and he largely picked up where Hunter left off. The 21 year-old reliever gave up nine earned runs in just 1.2 innings despite striking out three batters.
Halcisak promptly gave up a run in the fourth inning after a Watters single was followed up by a Harlin Hovater double down the right field line. Chatham continued to pour on the offense with a walk and a bunt single that loaded the bases. Fraser was the hero again, hitting a two-RBI single to make it 5-0. The hits and runs piled on and on, with the Kettleer defense incapable of ending the inning. By the time it was finally over, Chatham led 8-0.
“Today we just didn’t get off the field…” Coach Rob Cooper said. “Our pitchers have to attack the strike zone more so we can get off the field.”
Meanwhile, Cotuit never made any legitimate effort to produce an offensive comeback. The Kettleers failed to notch a baserunner until the fifth inning despite the fact that Anglers pitcher Jack Ohman (Yale) did not strike a batter out until the fourth inning. Ohman never overpowered the Kettleers, but simply induced weak contact to piece together a flawless outing.
The knockout blow came in the fifth inning. A Cooper Neville (Alabama) RBI double put the Anglers just one run below the mercy-rule threshold. Then, Fraser smashed a Halcisak fastball over the wall for his second home run of the game, putting Chatham up by 11. Five more runs in the sixth inning from three walks and a series of hits put the game further out of reach. The two Kettleer runs were scored in the sixth and seventh inning off clutch singles from Landon Beaver (UAB) and Seojun Oh (Transfer Portal).
After starting off the season with two impressive wins, Cotuit is now three games winless and back to a .500 record. While the season is still quite young, a turnaround will be necessary to ensure this skid does not turn into anything greater. Coach Rob Cooper will look to refocus his guys as they play each of the next three days.
“Nobody enjoys getting beat in that way,” Coach Rob Cooper said. “But my job as a coach is to say, ‘How do you learn from this? How do you get better and get ready for tomorrow?’”
The Kettleers will turn around and hit the road Friday when they take on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. First pitch at Red Wilson field is slated for five P.M. EDT.
