Kettleers Drop to Second Place Behind First-Place Wareham Gatemen
By Megan Kerr
July 6, 2006
COTUIT, MA — For the first time this season, the Kettleers drop two games in a row as Cotuit lost five to two to Yarmouth-Dennis. This is the Kettleers fourth loss at home this season, whereas they have only lost two games on the road. At first, it appeared as if Cotuit was going to end that trend as they jumped on the Red Sox in the second inning to give them an early lead. With Kyle Russell (Texas, 3 for 4, 1 RBI) on third, Red Sox started Nolan Gallagher (Stanford, 4BB, 5K, 4 H) baulked, allowing Russell to score to give the Kettleers a one run lead. Cotuit didn’t allow Gallagher to relax as they came right back at him in the third inning as Russell singled to bring in Jeff Rea (Mississippi St, 0 for 3), putting the Kettleers up by two. With Cotuit apparently on the attack, it appeared that the Kettleers were going to put an end to their recent home struggles, but Cotuit was unable to put any pressure on Red Sox pitching after the third, giving the Red Sox the opportunity they needed to make a comeback.
Dan Delucia (Ohio State, 3 BB, 1 K, 5 H) appeared to have the Red Sox attack completely under control, but it all fell apart in the fifth inning. Yarmouth-Dennis scored five runs in the inning, punctuated by Evan McArthur’s (Cal St-Fullerton, 1 for 4, 3 RBI) three run home run with two outs. McArthur’s first home run of the season broke the two-two tie and gave the Red Sox all the run security they would need as Deluccia fell to two and two on the season. Michael Cisco (South Carolina, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 H) and Dan Runzler (East Carolina, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 H) came in as relief for the Kettleers and pitched extremely well as they didn’t allow the Red Sox to score over the next four innings.
Cotuit relievers gave their offence the opportunity it needed to strike back, but its offence was unable to get anything going. Joshua Fields (Georgia, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 H) came on for the Red Sox in the ninth and pitched a one-two-three inning for his fourth save and the Red Sox eighth victory of the season. Cotuit will have an opportunity today to try and turn their home play around as they play Orleans at home.