There are certain things that make the Fourth of July a perfect holiday to spend in Cotuit. Things like the morning parade with goodies tossed into the crowd, the cool ocean that takes away the edge of the burning Sun, and the hometown Kettleers (5-11-2) winning against the Falmouth Commodores. While the first two things went off without a hitch, a Cotuit victory was as hard to find as George Washington in the Delaware River fog as the Kettleers lost 10-6.
Saturday’s matchup and free passes went hand-in-hand like hot dogs and hamburgers, with Cotuit giving the visitors 16 of them. In fact, there was not a single inning Falmouth scored in that did not involve some sort of free pass from the Kettleers. That being said, the Commodores gave the Kettleers seven back, but the home side did not capitalize on them as much.
“We have to pitch better, we have to play better defense,” Coach Rob Cooper said. “If we can stop putting ourselves in a hole things will come together.”
Fireworks started early in the showdown. A Ryder Woodson (Mississippi State) single followed by an Owen Paino (Ole Miss) error allowed for the Commodores to have runners in scoring position with no outs in the second. Jackson Yarberry (Indiana) got two outs, but Anthony Diaz (Missouri) made him pay with a single to right field that scored two. Cotuit’s Notre Dame duo sparked a run in the bottom half. Noah Coy started a two-out rally with a walk, before his college teammate Jayce Lee sent a shot to the fence that scored Coy and halved the Falmouth lead.
Both teams got back on the scoreboard in the third as well, with the Commodores doing so via free passes from Yarberry. The right-hander walked consecutive batters with one out, and paid for it when Ben Slanker (Louisville) hit a ground ball through the middle that scored one. The Cotuit run originated when Aiden Aguayo (UCLA) hit a hanging curveball to left field for a single before stealing second. After he advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, Brady Christman (Mississippi State) singled up the middle to drive Aguayo home.
The middle innings saw Falmouth build a strong lead, through both free passes and strong hitting. A string of three walks in four batters from Eli Buxton (Arizona State) loaded the bases with just one out in the fifth. While Buxton battled, he plunked Ty Kaunas (Texas Tech) with two outs, allowing another run to come across. The residue of free passes hurt Cotuit even more on a Riley Jackson (Kentucky) single in which multiple runs scored due to Coy misplacing a ball.
The sixth inning was different only in that the Commodore runs came from hits and not free passes. Reliever Luke Smyers (Alabama) made his debut for the Kettleers but was hit with a ‘welcome to the league moment’ of sorts. The southpaw gave up three hits in his first four batters which led to the Falmouth lead growing to six. Free passes reentered the frame in the seventh though, with Smyers loading the bases via two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Again, the Kettleers paid for this with a Fabio Peralta (Miami) double that scored two more runs.
Cotuit launched a comeback in the late innings, taking advantage of free passes. In the seventh, a hard-hit grounder from Lee was too much for Kaunas to handle, and then Will Plattner (Alabama) walked. Aguayo was the hero this time, singling to score Lee. Come the eighth inning, two singles gave the Kettleers a real shot at cutting the deficit further. A wild pitch and some RBI groundouts later, and Cotuit was within four runs of Falmouth. However, the Commodores got out of the jam in time for darkness to end the game during the top of the ninth.
One bright spot for the Kettleers was Chase Van Ameyde (Michigan State). Aside from being the only Cotuit pitcher to not allow a run, the sidewinder gave up just one hit in two innings pitched. He also struck out three batters.
“It felt great to get out there today, everything was working,” Van Ameyde said. “I felt like I had some life on the heater.”
This is now the third consecutive game Cotuit has allowed eight runs or more, which is incredibly concerning. While it may be a product of playing seven games in eight days, this will have to change if the Kettleers want to end their five-game losing streak.
Cotuit is back in action on the road tomorrow when they take on the Wareham Gatemen. First pitch at Clem Spillane Field is at six p.m. EDT, and the projected starter for the Kettleers is Grady Bivens (Transfer Portal).
