Above photo credit: Raj Das, ED Photography
In their last two games, the Firebirds were 5-32 with runners in scoring position, something they hoped to see change in their second trip to Lowell Park.
As Gabe Nard (Duke) struggled with his command early, issuing three consecutive free passes to load the bases with no outs, the Birds had a prime opportunity to bring in base runners.
They would do so without recording a hit, as Landon Moran (Stetson) became the third Firebird to walk in the inning, and forced Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) home off third. Lorenzo Meola (Stetson) followed with a sac fly, which gave Ben Zeigler a clear path to run home, giving the Birds an early 2-0 lead.
In contrast to Nard's start on the mound, Michael Foltz (George Washington) was as efficient as it gets for Orleans, retiring the top of Cotuit order on six pitches.
The script quickly flipped, however, with Nard responding to his disastrous first inning with two consecutive one-two-three innings, while Foltz had his worst outing of the summer, suddenly allowing four Kettleer runs.
The Birds would remain hitless until the seventh, until Robbie Ayers (Loyola Marymount) shot a line drive into right, and would eventually slide home courtesy of a Ben Zeigler (Hawaii) RBI single.
Ayers' dash home brought Orleans within one, and thanks to Luke Jackson (Texas A&M) getting the Birds out of a second and third, one-out jam, they had a chance to take the lead back in the eighth.
After Issac Washcmann (Xavier) put the tying run on base, Lorenzo Meola soon gave the Birds the hit they'd been looking for all summer, with a two-run bomb to right field to give his team a late 5-4 lead.
Like a knife in the heart, however, Cotuit responded with a two-run homer of their own, soaring off the bat of Tanner Thatch (UNC Wilmington). Thatch's homer ended up being the dagger in the Birds' hopes of snapping their two-game skid, as the Birds couldn't bring in a game-tying run with the bases loaded.
The loss was a tough blow for the Firebirds, as whenever it seems they are putting the pieces together, they are met with a loss in heartbreaking fashion. Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson knows that for the Birds to have a late-season turnaround, these back-and-fourth games need to start going their way.
"You need to come out on top in a game like this, that's what will spark you," said Nicholson.
"When you lose a game like this it stinks. But win or lose, you have to go home, eat, go to bed, and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow."
The Birds will look to get back on track Thursday night, as they welcome the Harbor Hawks to Eldredge for a makeup of 6/13's canceled game.
