Wareham, Mass. 一 After three straight wins, one of those coming as a victory against another West Division team, the Gatemen’s hot streak cooled back at their home ballpark.
Cotuit and Wareham split matchups previously this summer: the Kettleers pulled out a W on Cape Cod Baseball League at home over a month ago, and the Gatemen defended Spillane Field at the start of June. Their third of five matchups this summer certainly brought similar twists and turns from rounds 1 and 2.
Both teams had a man in scoring position in the first inning, both squads were scoreless through two frames. But then some walks and three hits in the third, fourth, and fifth innings gave Cotuit three runs with scores in each of those three offensive innings. The Kettleers got men on and capitalized, scoring five men in scoring position on the night.
Wareham briefly responded in the fourth. Connor Cuff (Southeastern Louisiana) singled and scampered to third after throwing errors, and Coen Niclai (Oregon State) hit him home with an RBI groundout. Niclai’s 16 RBIs not only lead Wareham, he has the fourth-most in the entire Cape League. He consistently puts the ball in play, trading an out for a run to help craft the Gatemen’s rally.
But Cotuit’s strong, consistent momentum in the early innings proved to be too much to overcome.
“We put ourselves kind of in that (trailing early) position,” Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “Too many free passes, too many opportunities for them to just be on base early and got behind, came back a little bit there. Made a push at the end, just it was a little too late.”
Wareham’s fourth-inning run wasn’t its only run. Trailing by five runs, a 6-1 deficit, the Gatemen loaded the bases with two outs after a pair of walks and a double from the bat of Cuff. Wareham had an up-and-down night at the plate to this point, but Dylan Dubovik then stepped up riding the momentum of a hit and an RBI in five of his last six games.
It took just three pitches for Dylan Dubovik (Miami) to put bat to ball and reignite his heater after a temporary setback against the Red Sox last night. He crushed a double down the right field line to score Niclai, Cuff, and RJ Hamilton (Duke). Dubovik’s three RBIs led all hitters and created a temporary flare that brought Wareham within two.
“He (Dubovik) is learning every day out here. He's asking questions, he's taking advice, and I'm really seeing a lot of growth out of him, which is really cool,” Smyth said. “Super talented player that is just young, and it's really cool to see him grow as a player out here. It's really hard to make those changes while you're out here in this league, but he's been able to do it and he's reaping the benefits of it.”
Wareham’s rally in the eighth inning brought life back to Spillane Field. The Gatemen only trailed by two with the ninth inning and had prior defensive momentum after a 1,2,3 inning in the top of the eighth. But Cotuit had other plans: the Kettleers tallied three hits, one of them being a double that scored two runs, that extended their lead to four runs.
“We put ourselves within two runs, and gave it right back,” Smyth said. “And again, it just wasn't a clean baseball game for us on any side of it, and that's what's going to happen out here.”
While Wareham fell at home on Thursday, it can head into the Cape League All-Star break with a win over Bourne, the West Division’s leaders.
