Friday, Aug. 8:
No. 1 Bourne Braves 11, No. 3 Cotuit Kettleers 5 (BOU leads 1-0)
Looking to advance to the Cape League Championship Series for the fifth year in a row, the Braves’ offense exploded to lead them to a convincing Game 1 victory over Cotuit at Doran Park. Bourne scored the first eight runs of the game. Jon LeGrande went 2-for-3 with two walks, improving his playoff average to .500 and OPS to 1.325.
LeGrande got the Braves on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the second inning. Gavin Kelly and Kade Lewis added RBI singles in the frame. Kelly finished with three hits and three RBIs.
Bourne broke the game open with four runs in the third. Again, Kelly and Lewis came through with run-scoring singles.
Cotuit got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with a three-spot. Jack Natili doubled to left to plate a run, and Ryne Farber recorded an RBI infield single.
The Braves didn’t let the Kettleers get a foothold in the game, as they responded right away with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Ryker Waite walked with the bases loaded, and Cal Sefcik drove in a run with a single.
Each team scored a run in the sixth inning, but the offense slowed down in the late innings. Trailing by seven with two outs, Cotuit loaded the bases in the top of the ninth against Bourne righty Saxon Roberts with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Roberts then hit Sean Martinez with a pitch to force in a run. Roberts was ultimately able to get out of the jam with a strikeout of Landon Beaver to end the game.
The series moves to Lowell Park in Cotuit for Game 2 on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Kettleers must win to stay alive, while the Braves are a win away from a return trip to the Championship.
Saturday, Aug. 9:
No. 3 Cotuit Kettleers 9, No. 1 Bourne Braves 1 (Series tied 1-1)
After the Bourne bats dominated in Game 1, the Kettleers' pitching staff shut them down in Game 2 at Lowell Park to save Cotuit’s season. The Braves did not record a hit in the game until the seventh inning.
Right-hander Ryan Buckler got the start for Cotuit. In the regular season, he made 10 appearances and pitched to a 3-0 record and 2.63 ERA. On Saturday, Buckler turned in a gem, tossing five innings of no-hit ball with five strikeouts.
The Kettleers got out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Luke Lavin walked to start the frame before Camden Johnson left the yard with a two-run homer.
Despite issuing eight walks in the game, the Braves’ arms were able to keep the game close into the late innings. But Cotuit broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs without an extra-base hit.
Bourne broke up the shutout in the eighth. Ryan Cooney tripled and scored on a Jon LeGrande RBI groundout.
The Kettleers added on to their lead in the bottom of the eighth with three more runs to put the game out of reach. Jack Natili, Nolan Stevens and Zan Von Schlegell recorded back-to-back-to-back doubles.
Natili and Luke Matthews had three-hit games. The pair has led the Cotuit lineup in the playoffs, both with averages north of .500 and OPSs over 1.000.
After Buckler exited, lefty Chase Carson pitched the final four frames for Cotuit and allowed only the one run.
The series shifts back to Doran Park on Sunday at 6 p.m. for a winner-take-all Game 3 with a spot in the Championship Series on the line.
Sunday, Aug. 10:
No. 1 Bourne Braves 6, No. 3 Cotuit Kettleers 5 (BOU wins 2-1)
In one of the most thrilling games of the summer, the Braves walked it off in the 12th inning to advance to their fifth consecutive Cape League Championship. The game was back-and-forth and took more than four hours. Gavin Kelly was the hero with a walk-off single. There was pandemonium at Doran Park.
Cotuit led, 3-0, after four innings on Sunday. Zan Von Schlegell drove in a run with a single in the second, and Camden Johnson plated two with a double in the fourth. Johnson had three hits in the game.
The Braves responded and got on the board with a four-spot in the fifth to take the lead. Ryan Cooney and Jason Torres each recorded an RBI single, while Jon LeGrande remained red-hot and doubled home a pair. LeGrande has been one of the best players in the playoffs, with an average of .409 and a 1.091 OPS.
The Kettleers retook the lead in top of the seventh. They loaded the bases with nobody out. Jack Natili walked, and Nolan Stevens plated a run with a sacrifice fly.
Bourne’s season was on the line, trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth. With one man on and two outs, Ryan Cooney kept the Braves alive with a single. Then it was Torres who lined a single to left field. Ryker Waite just barely touched home plate to tie the game before Cooney was thrown out at third to end the inning.
Left-hander Will Whelan was huge for Bourne late in the game out of the bullpen. He came on in the top of the seventh inning and limited the damage in that frame. He pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball, only allowing two hits while striking out four.
After a walk, hit-by-pitch and wild pitch, Cotuit had two in scoring position with nobody out in the top of the 12th. Whelan got a big strikeout for the first out but was then lifted in favor of righty Packy Bradley-Cooney. With the infield in, Bradley-Conney got Luke Matthews to line out to second base. He then struck out Caden Bogenpohl to keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the 12th, LeGrande led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on an error. The 12th was the first inning the Braves got a leadoff hit.
The stage was set for Kelly. He ripped the ball down the left field line, and LeGrande came around with the winning run. The Braves exploded onto the field in celebration.
With the win, the Braves advance to meet the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape League Championship. Game 1 of the series is Monday at Doran Park at 6 p.m.
