HARWICH, Mass. – For the first time this season, the Cotuit Kettleers played a complete baseball game, winning in dominant fashion as all starters recorded a hit against the Harwich Mariners via the mercy rule Thursday.
The Ketts got things going offensively quickly, batting around the order in the top of the second inning to hang a five-spot on Mariners starter Danny Macciarola (Holy Cross). The first three batters of the inning couldn’t be retired, as Nolan Nawrocki (Clemson) recorded a broken-bat single in his first at-bat for Cotuit and Tyler Cerny (Indiana) followed with a base hit of his own.
The first run came across on an error charged to Harwich first baseman Michael Anderson (Rhode Island) on a Matt Klein (Louisville) sacrifice bunt where the ball kicked away after a collision at the bag, setting the table for Nawrocki’s Clemson teammate Nathan Hall.
Hall waited patiently to be activated on Cotuit’s roster and made the most of his first regular season at-bat. In a 1-1 count, the sophomore outfielder with something to prove got a hanging breaking ball and did not miss.
“I knew in the home run at-bat, he was going to pound me with off-speed,” said Hall. “I saw the slider well out of his hand and I just swung easy.”
Hall crushed the ball over the left field fence, giving the Kettleers a 4-0 lead and Cotuit added one more run on a wild pitch before the Mariners could record the third out in a nightmare inning for the home team.
The Kettleers kept their foot on the gas in the top of the third and doubled their run total, kickstarted by a Hall base knock into right-center field for his second hit and fourth RBI on the night. The first five hitters reached safe, with lucky run No. 7 coming on a bases-loaded walk by Max Belyeu (Texas). Cotuit tacked on three more runs from a Brandon Compton (Arizona St.) blooper, another wild pitch and Tanner Thach (UNC Wilmington) sacrifice fly to give the team a comfortable 10-0 advantage.
But the hits wouldn’t stop coming, as the Kettleers did the most damage in the bottom of the fourth inning. A power surge hit Whitehouse Field as the Ketts blasted two homers, the first coming as Compton crushed his second bomb in as many games, coming in the form of a 412-foot grand slam to extend the lead to 16 runs. Nawrocki followed suit with a two-run shot of his own, providing the 18th and final runs for Cotuit on the night on 17 hits.
“I think the first big swing actually really came from Nathan Hall, actually, to get us out front, which we needed to do,” said Cotuit manager Mike Roberts. “But there were several outstanding swings, and Compton was one of them.”
Cotuit pitched tremendously too, using a trio of southpaws to turn in seven strong innings. Starter Harrison Bodendorf (Oklahoma St.) showcased his changeup as a lethal pitch, striking out four with the off-speed offering in his 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
”It floats away from the right-handed hitter. And that's what a really good left-handed pitcher does, is he gets guys out on the front foot,” Roberts said of Bodendorf’s changeup.
Ian May (Cal) bailed Bodendorf out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the third and stayed in the game through the sixth, tossing an efficient 3 2/3 innings pitched where he allowed just two baserunners.
The Mariners managed four runs in the final inning on a grand slam of their own by Jake Ogden (UNC Greensboro), but Cotuit still comfortably took home their second win by two touchdowns.
“The most important thing to me is we played more mature,” said Roberts. “The pitchers against eight right-handed hitters did a really good job of changing speeds and keeping the ball in the strike zone, and that's what we haven't done very well.”
The Kettleers will look to keep their bats hot and opposing batters off-balance against the undefeated Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the first rendition of the Barnstable Patriot Cup in 2024, taking place at Lowell Park at 5 p.m.
