“Cotuit Splits Home and Home with Falmouth”
By: James Middleton | West Chester University
Falmouth, MA – A suspension in play and a two-run deficit didn't deter the Ketts as they made the trip back to Falmouth to finish the July 4th contest. Play resumed in the top half of the third with one out and Emilien Pitre (Kentucky) on second with newly activated Grant Norris (Penn State) at the plate. Norris blasted a ball over the left-field wall to tie the game at two in his first at-bat in a Cotuit uniform. However, the home run was all the Ketts could muster in the contest as they fell to Falmouth 12-2.
Cotuit and Falmouth got through the first two innings on the fourth, with Falmouth scoring two in the bottom of the first. The Ketts were sat down in order in the top of the frame before Finn McIlroy (UCLA) took the mound. An RBI single brought home the first tally, and a McIlroy wild pitch would score the second Commodore of the game.
With it being a suspended game, there was a new arm on the mound: Jake Gigliotti (Northeastern). It would be Gigliotti's shortest stint of the summer as he lasted three innings, giving up six before his day was done. Tonight's appearance against Falmouth was the first time Gigliotti seemed hittable, as the right-hander had only given up one earned run before tonight.
There was little offense after the homerun as the Ketts managed only six hits on the night. Cotuit had runners on the bases in both the third and fourth inning with one out, but inning-ending double-plays squandered any hope the Cotuit faithful had. The Ketts threatened again in the sixth when Brock Wills (UNC-Wilmington) and Cole Mathis (Charleston) notched early hits, with Mathis' double putting both runners in scoring position. The Commodore pitching was then able to bear down, striking out the next two batters to halt any momentum Cotuit thought they had.
Janzen Keisel (Oklahoma State) was called upon after Gigliotti, pitching one inning in his fourth appearance of the summer. Keisel struck out one and gave up one during his time on the hill. To round out the contest was a duo of position players that took the mound for Cotuit. Up first was Jacob Tobias (Arizona State), making his second appearance on the mound this summer. Tobias was only on the bump for one inning, giving up the final three Commodore runs while striking out one. Josh Pyne (Indiana) took the ball in the ninth to finish the game for Cotuit. Pyne pitched a shutout, allowing no hits, no runs, and punching out one in his appearance.
With the loss, Cotuit moves to 15-7 on the season, still leading the pack in points in the West division. Hyannis will make the trip to Lowell Park tomorrow as they will take on the Ketts at five o'clock. The matchup between the teams will be the fourth rendition of the Barnstable Patriot Cup, as Cotuit currently holds a 2-1 lead over Hyannis. The Kettleers had a statement win in the last matchup, scoring eight and holding the Hawks to zero, giving them that one-game advantage. Expect there to be more fireworks when the teams battle tomorrow, as in every contest this season, there have been at least seven runs scored in each game.