By Zach Kaplan
Penn State University
June 26, 2018
Video recap by Mason Horodyski, Syracuse University
COTUIT– Trailing 5-3 in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, it looked like the Kettleers were threatening to tie the game.
But a weak grounder ended the threat, and Cotuit never got close after that, falling to the Harwich Mariners 10-3 at Lowell Park on Tuesday.
“Even though we swung the bat, our defense wasn’t good,” said Coach Roberts after the game. “I didn’t feel that we were competitive today…You got to be there every pitch, and we weren’t there every pitch.”
After an off day on Monday, the Kettleers finally returned to Lowell Park for their first home game in six days.
The first inning went scoreless, but the Mariners would take an early lead in the second. Danny Casals (Maine) hit a triple that went off the center field fence, and scored off a throwing error that also allowed Logan Driscoll (George Mason) to reach safely at first with an RBI.
The Kettleers responded in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 2-1 lead. After Jakob Goldfarb (Oregon) got to third base via an error to lead off, Brundage drove him in with an RBI double as he continued his hot streak at the plate.
Beau Brundage (Portland) had an RBI double for the Kettleers, en route to a 10-3 loss against Harwich on Tuesday at Lowell Park.
Two batters later, Peyton Burdick (Wright State) hit an RBI single that took a brutal hop past the second baseman, scoring Brundage to put Cotuit ahead.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Mariners took it right back in the third. Cam Thompson (Kansas State) led off with a double, and Chris Galland (BC) hit a double of his own, driving in Thompson.
Tanner Morris (Virginia) would drive in the go-ahead run for Harwich on a fielder’s choice, as the Kettleers could not turn the double play on a ground ball, allowing Galland to score.
Harwich was able to blow the game open in the fifth inning. After Galland reached on a walk, the Mariners put four straight hits together off the bats of Aaron Shunk (Georgia), Morris, Casals, and Driscoll, who combined to drive in three runs giving Harwich a 6-2 lead.
The Kettleers would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning. Adam Oviedo (TCU) led off with a single and Thomas Dillard (Ole Miss) drove him in with an RBI single to right field, narrowing the lead to 6-3.
But the Mariners would strike yet again in the seventh, adding two runs to make it an 8-3 lead. After Nate Eikhoff (Virginia) reached on a walk and Thompson hit a single, Galland would clear the bases again, this time with a 2-RBI triple scoring both runners for Harwich. Harwich would add a run apiece in the eighth and ninth respectively.
The Kettleers will be back on the road Wednesday, traveling to Doran Park in Bourne to take on the Braves (6-6-1). First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.