Cotuit, Mass. – Following a 7-6 loss in Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday night, the Cotuit Kettleers were looking to flip the script and finish its two-game exhibition weekend on a high note. Even though the game was in doubt due to rain, the Ketts showed up and played well in a 10-3 win over the Lexington Blue Sox.
“Today gave me a little bit of a chance to see the players and what kind of instincts they have,” says Cotuit head coach, Mike Roberts. “The competition will rev up very quickly when we get into Cape Cod play so today doesn’t necessarily show me that this is how we’ll play in a week. However, I get to look at my guys and check out some of the little things that we need to work on to be able to win in this league.”
Cotuit came out of the gate ready to play, as Harrison Bodendorf (Hawaii) posted a 1-2-3 inning, including a strikeout. In the bottom of the frame, the Kettleer offense put up a four spot, which was highlighted by a Brooks Bryan (Troy University) two-run double. Later in the inning, another run scored on a passed ball. That first inning set the tone for the day, but also gave the Kettleer pitchers some nice run support.
The Blue Sox did get on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI single. However, it wasn’t long before Cotuit returned the favor as Jarren Advincula (Cal Berkeley) drew a one-out walk in the third where he later scored on a wild pitch. That was followed by another run scored via the wild pitch, which gave the Ketts a commanding 6-1 lead after four innings.
The Kettleers began threatening in the fifth as they loaded the bases with only one out. They did get a run across on a Charles Davalan (Florida Gulf Coast) RBI sac-fly, but that was all they could get. In the bottom of the frame, a couple of costly errors by the Kettleers came back to hurt them and allowed two Blue Sox to score, cutting the lead to 7-3.
Cotuit would dominate the rest of the way by tacking on three more runs and shutting down the Lexington bats, leading to a 10-3 win at Lowell Park.
Cotuit will go through several practices throughout the week as they open the season on June 15th against the Harwich Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM EDT.
“We’ve got some things to work on for Saturday. I would say the two big things are taking care of routine groundballs and throwing strikes,” said Roberts. “I have a philosophy that if we have two walks or less and no errors, we’ve got a good chance to win every ballgame. It won’t happen every game, but that’s the goal.”
