Pitching continues to be the name of the game for the Harwich Mariners. Just six games into the season, Harwich pitchers combined for already its third team shutout of the season. Jake McCoy, Ryan Bilka and Michael Gray dominated Cotuit Kettleer hitters Saturday night as Harwich beat the Kettleers for the second time of the season, 5-0, at Lowell Park.
McCoy started his second game of the season and once again showcased his talent. The lefty shut out the Kettleers for 4 1/3 innings. After striking out 10 batters in the opening game of the season, McCoy added seven batters to his season total. His ERA remains a perfect 0.00.
While McCoy’s fastball once again flooded the zone, he got into a little trouble in the fourth after he hit a batter and allowed a walk with one out. Before the next batter, catcher Ethan Swidler walked to the mound to calm the ace down.
“He told me to slow down, take it pitch by pitch,” McCoy said. “I’d been throwing strikes all game and these guys haven’t been able to hit, so keep doing it.”
McCoy then struck out the next batter and got a fly ball for the third out to get out of the jam.
McCoy passed the torch to Bilka in the fifth and the righty picked up right where his starter left off.
“McCoy was something special tonight,” Harwich field manager Steve Englert said. “Bilka came in right after him. He might’ve topped him.”
While McCoy outdid Bilka in strikeouts, 7-5, Bilka allowed just one baserunner in his 3 2/3 innings.
The Harwich pitching staff has proven to be among, if not the best in the league to start the season. The Mariners lead the league with a 1.87 ERA and are the only team with three shutouts.
Against Cotuit, the bats caught up with the pitching.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Kyle Wolff stepped up to the plate looking to put Harwich up in the third inning.
Looking to give his team the early boost, Wolff swung at the first pitch from Kenton Deverman and hit a chopper between third base and shortstop to score Tre Broussard and Bristol Carter.
The Boston College first baseman is hitting .375 with a 1.037 OPS.
With another great pitching performance, the hit would have been good enough alone to give Harwich the win.
New additions make immediate impact
Tyler Bell and Dee Kennedy were both added to the Mariners roster earlier this week. Kennedy made his season debut while Bell was making his second start. The duo wasted no time to contribute to the Harwich offense.
Kennedy reached base four times, twice by an error and twice by a hit. Him and Bell hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fifth inning to pad Harwich’s lead. The duo combined for three RBIs, six total bases and four hits on the night.
“They’re rock solid players,” Englert said. “They hit the ground running ever since they got up here. We’re looking for special things out of them this summer.”
It was the second time Harwich and Cotuit played this week. Four Harwich pitchers combined to shut out the Kettleers on Tuesday.
Harwich heads to Orleans on Saturday to play the Firebirds, with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Oregon’s Toby Twist will make his first start of the summer.
