The Y-D Red Sox fell to the Cotuit Kettleers, 9-2, on Wednesday evening at Red Wilson Field. Cotuit brought the heat on offense with three home runs and seven players in their lineup recording one or more hits.
Cotuit’s designated hitter Chris Arroyo hit a two-run home run to center field in the second, and first baseman Tanner Thach homered on a fly ball to center field in the third to put the Kettleers up 3-0. A three-run homer from third baseman Nolan Nawrocki in the sixth helped the Kettleers pull away and extended their lead by five.
Merritt Beeker started on the mound for Cotuit and pitched a solid game for the Kettleers. He threw for five innings and had seven strikeouts, holding Y-D’s offense to just one run through the fifth.
That one run came from newcomer Ethan Petry, who made a memorable Y-D debut in Wednesday’s game with two hits. The South Carolina freshman hit a single to center field during his first at-bat and cranked a home run in the fourth to put Y-D on the board.
The Red Sox offense remained fairly quiet in the game. The only other hits came from Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy, who singled to center field in the fifth, and Oklahoma’s Easton Carmichael, who had a single in the eighth. Carmichael also hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to bring UCLA’s Phoenix Call home, putting up a second run for the team.
Despite giving up three home runs, Y-D’s pitchers combined for a total of 14 strikeouts. Westmont’s Sean Youngerman started on the mound for Y-D. He threw for four innings and collected seven strikeouts in those innings.
UCLA’s Justin Lee then came to the rubber in the fifth. He threw for two innings and had five strikeouts. Dylan Delvecchio of Saint Mary’s College closed for Y-D, throwing for three innings and notching two strikeouts.
For Cotuit, Mike Villani threw from the sixth to the eighth inning with three strikeouts and one run given up. Jacob Shafer closed the game for the Kettleers in the ninth with one strikeout.
Y-D (7-3) looks to bounce back in Thursday night’s game in Orleans, where it will face the Firebirds (2-8) at 7 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on NESN.
