Ketts fall 9-4 against Harwich
By: James Middleton | West Chester University
Cotuit, MA – The Kettleers returned to Lowell Park after making the trips out to Orleans and Chatham to face another eastern opponent, the Harwich Mariners. The Cotuit bats started off hot, putting four on the board in the first, but it was all they could muster as Harwich came away with a 9-4 victory.
Cotuit pressured Harwich early, sending eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the first. Caleb Lomavita (California) got it started with a leadoff double. Tanner Thach (UNC-Wilmington) continued his hitting tear by sending a ball back up the middle to score Lomavita. Brock Rodden (Wichita State) joined the action, blooping a ball into right field to put runners on first and second. Teo Banks (Tulane) brought in the second Kettleer of the inning with a sacrifice groundout to the shortstop. Jay Harry (Penn State) was the next Kettleer sending a ball into the left field gap, scoring the third run of the inning.
After Lomavita reached again in the top of the second, Rodden brought him home on a ball that was sent back up the middle to score the night's final run for the Ketts.
“We had early BP so me and Coach Roberts worked a little bit, and then I got my hits and hit the ball hard,” said Lomavita on his two hit day.
Paulshawn Pasqualotto (California) got the start on the bump for Cotuit completing the California battery. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched two and a third innings for a line of four strikeouts, four hits, and two runs. Those two runs came in the third inning, but relief pitcher Cole Mathis (Charleston) came in with the bases loaded, struck a batter out, and forced a ground out to end the inning.
“When you come in with the bases loaded your main focus is damage control. Letting up one wasn't ideal, but managed to get out of the inning without any other than the one,” said Mathis.
Harwich tacked on one in the fourth, two in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the eighth to make up the rest of the runs for the Mariners. The Cotuit pitching staff struck out fourteen batters on the night, but the free bases hurt them in the end, as there were eleven walks in the game.
Cotuit ends the streak of games against eastern opponents as they will head to Doran Park to take them on tomorrow night at six o'clock. The Ketts have faced the Braves once already this season, and they walked away with a 1-0 win, as the pitching staff only allowed four hits in the previous contest. It will be a battle of the top and bottom teams of the west, as even with the loss, the Kettleers sit atop the division, and the Braves are at the bottom with a record of 1-5-1.