By Courtney Swift
Kettleers Media Intern
July 26, 2012

FALMOUTH – Two home runs and 15 hits on the night led the Kettlers to a 9-3 win over the Falmouth Commodores. What began as a close game Wedneday turned into an all out offensive showcase for Cotuit.

The Kettleers didn’t waste any time getting on the board. Adam Nelubowich (Washington State) hit the second pitch of the game over the left field fence for an opposite field solo shot. “When you hit lead off you see quite a few fastballs,” Nelubowich said. “I got a fastball up and away, put a good swing on it, and that’s what happened.” The homer put the Kettleers up 1-0, but that’s all they would get in the first.

Falmouth earned it back in its half of the first inning after shortstop Casey Turgeon (Florida) doubled and All-Star Drew Dosch (Youngstown State) drove him in with a single to right. Daniel Aldrich (College of Charleston) put the Kettleers on top again 2-1 in the second with another solo shot. The homer was his fifth for Cotuit, and sixth on the season. He went 3-5 on the night with two runs batted in.

Daniel Aldrich, 3 for 5, 2 RBI. “People are getting it done” / Photo by Joe Cavanaugh

Cotuit broke the game open in the sixth after both Mike Ford (Princeton) and Patrick Biondi (Michigan) walked. With runners on first and second the Kettleers hit four consecutive singles to put the score at 7-2. “A lot of people are getting it done and people are picking it up when other people are slumping,” Aldrich said. “The team meshes really well. We’ve got a lot of chemistry.”

The Kettleers loaded the bases in the eighth inning with on two singles and a walk for Nelubowich. With no outs, he hit a two run double down the right field to score Tim Kiene (Maryland) and Aldrich to extend the lead to 9-2. Nelubowich went 3-4 on the night with four runs batted in. “Everybody hits on our team, we hit one through nine, so we don’t give their team any breaks,” Nelubowich said. “We had some clutch base hits and just kept the cycle going. It was good night, balanced night for offense.”

Jordan Ramsey (UNC Wilmington) made the start for the Kettleers keeping them in it when the game was close. He gave up two runs on the night on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. His night was done after he walked the first batter of the fifth inning. Ryan Connolly (Coastal Carolina) came in relief getting his fifth win of the season for the Kettleers.

Connolly gave up a triple to the first batter he faced allowing the Commodores to tie the score in the second but held them off after that with three strikeouts and two hits in his 1 1/3 innings of work. Jordan Smith (Western Carolina) also pitched in relief for the Kettleers throwing 2 2/3 innings. “He’s been working on his changeup, trying to get his breaking ball down,” coach Mike Roberts said. He gave up just one run, a solo shot to Kaiana Eldredge (Kansas), in the eighth making the final 9-3.

Before the game, The Kettleers made a special presentation to Commodores catcher/second baseman Jake Rodriguez (Oregon State). Rodriguez lost his father just before the Cape League season, but decided to come play for Falmouth anyway. In a recent interview with the Falmouth Enterprise he said,  “He wouldn’t want anything else for me right now, than me being out here playing baseball. He wanted me to come out here, not just from a baseball standpoint, but just as a learning experience in general.”

Rodriguez arrived 11 games into the season for Falmouth, and took his first at bat since his father’s death at Cotuit’s Lowell Park. With one swing, he connected for his first home run as a Cape League player and put the Commodores on top 2-0. Rodriguez also had a single and walk in that game.

Falmouth’s Jake Rodriguez receives a commemorative bat from James Roberts and teammates. / Photo by Joe Cavanaugh

The Kettleers presented Rodriguez with a baseball bat commemorating his special home run, and the Cotuit Athletic Association presented him with a framed print of himself rounding the bases after the monster shot to center field. “Any of us who have lost a parent realize that it can be a very difficult time,” coach Mike Roberts said. “This is about more than baseball. This is about life.”

Cotuit (20-12) hits the road again Thursday as they take on Wareham (15-17) in a makeup at Spillane Field at 7 p.m. The Kettleers have won 12 of their last 14 games, and are still ten points ahead of second place Wareham. Falmouth has lost eight in a row and falls to 14-19 on the season.

Monday’s rainout against Brewster (13-19) will be made up August 1 at 4:30 p.m. at Lowell Park. For the full article on Rodriguez visit The Enterprise here, and for more post game interviews, check out Official Kettleer on YouTube.