Cotuit, Mass. – After a rejuvenating win against the Brewster Whitecaps on Tuesday, Cotuit had momentum heading into a Thursday home game against Chatham. The Kettleer offense looked much better against the Anglers, collecting 13 hits by seven players, scoring six runs, and flashing the leather multiple times.
It wasn’t a loss, but the Ketts tied Chatham 6-6 through 10 innings, heading into an off day where they can make some adjustments and get well-deserved rest.
“We played great defense and did some good things offensively. We played okay, I thought we did enough to win, but it didn’t happen,” says Cotuit manager Loren Hibbs. “We get a tie. We’ve already played three extra-inning games, which I think is a lot, but maybe that’s normal for this league.”
While he ran his pitch count up in the top of the first, Payton Manca (Florida State) tossed a 1-2-3 frame to bring his offense up. Jarren Advincula (Transfer Portal) helped him out by ripping a single to lead off the bottom of the frame. He advanced to third base on a groundout due to nobody covering the bag, then scored on an RBI groundout.
Camden Johnson (Oklahoma) laced a leadoff double in the second before heading to third base on a balk. Rintaro Sasaki (Stanford) drove in the corner infielder on an RBI groundout to extend the Kettleer lead to 2-0.
In the top of the third, Manca surrendered consecutive singles to begin the frame. After a mound visit from pitching coach Tim O’Connor, the Seminole settled in and retired back-to-back Anglers.
Ace Reese (Mississippi State) ripped a two-out single into right field, which scored a run. However, Nolan Stevens (Oklahoma) fired a rocket from right field to third base, nabbing the runner to end the frame.
Both offenses stalled until Cotuit did damage in the bottom of the fifth inning. Andrew Wiggins (Transfer Portal) led off with a single, then went to second base on a groundout. Stevens came up to the dish and mashed a 1-0 pitch into right field, allowing Wiggins to stroll home easily. Then, an Anderson French (Virginia Tech) single placed Stevens on third base before he scored on a sac-fly.
Chatham answered the next half inning after reliever Preston Crowl (Virginia Tech) walked the bases loaded with two outs. He walked another Angler, and this time, it plated a run to cut the deficit. He was pulled for Charlie Walker (Northeastern), who gave up an infield single to score another run but got out of the jam with Cotuit still leading 4-3.
Walker came out for his second inning of work in the top of the seventh and looked solid for the first two at-bats. Then, Ace Reese (Mississippi State) scorched a no-doubt home run over the right field fence to tie things at four apiece.
Johnson collected a two-out single in the bottom of the inning to bring up Sasaki. The Japanese slugger stepped into the box looking to do damage and reclaim the Cotuit lead. With a runner on second and the count at 1-2, Sasaki crushed a pitch way over the right-field wall to give the Ketts a 6-4 lead.
Heading into the ninth inning, Wyatt Halvorson (Arizona State) took the mound looking to close out a win. After walking the leadoff man, Halvorson surrendered a two-run shot to Henry Ford (Tennessee), tying the game once again. That’s all Chatham would get as the Kettleers came up to bat in the ninth with a chance to win.
Cotuit strung together back-to-back walks to begin the bottom of the frame with Johnson due up. On the second pitch of the at-bat, the Kettleer third baseman bunted to third base. He sprinted down the baseline and leaped for the bag but was called out on a controversial play. That drew immediate frustration from Hibbs, who argued the call but to no avail. The Ketts recorded two strikeouts to send the game into extra innings.
Both teams failed to score in the 10th inning, ending the game in a tie due to league rules. While it’s not a loss, it’s certainly not the outcome the Kettleers hoped for.
“I think the kids want to play, but I think it’s good to have an off day here and there. I know we’re going to be playing a lot moving forward, but I think they’ll [the players] come ready to go on Friday and come ready to work,” Hibbs says.
Notes
After a slow start to the summer, Camden Johnson is batting .364 with three runs scored and two RBIs in the last three games.
The Kettleer bats were good in today’s tie. The team racked up a season-high 13 hits and tied the season-high for runs scored (6).
While the Ketts had a good day offensively, they still left 13 runners on base. Over the past three games, Cotuit has stranded 34 men.
Looking Ahead
Cotuit will have a rest day tomorrow, then will return to the diamond on Friday for a road game against the Y-D Red Sox. First pitch from Red Wilson Field is at 5:00 p.m.
