By Ben Fischer
University of Maryland
June 9, 2018

COTUIT-

• Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) threw the second inning for Cotuit and was consistently in the high 90’s with his fastball. The scoreboard registered one of his pitches at 100 mph, but the handheld radar guns behind the plate had him topping out at 98. His slider sat in the mid-80’s and got consistent swings and misses.

• The Kettleers were relentless on the basepaths, with five steals in the first two innings, including a double steal that was perfectly executed with both runners going in standing with no throw. The Kettleers also showed good awareness, with runners moving up to scoring position on a throw to the plate.

• Two of the hardest-hit balls of the game both went foul. Jack Cunningham (Boston College) and Will Robertson (Creighton) each cranked balls down the right field line. Cunningham settled for a walk and Robertson reached on a fielder’s choice.

• Deacon Medders (Alabama) struck out two batters looking for Cotuit in the third inning. Both came when he painted the outside corner with a two-seam fastball. He had control issues with his curveball, but got one bad-looking miss with it.

• Andrew Smith (LIU Brooklyn) had an impressive baserunning moment, when he read the Blue Sox pitcher and took off while the pitcher was still in the stretch. The pitcher threw to first and Smith was easily into second.

• Medders and Smith each had some confusion surrounding them during the game. Medders was listed and announced as “Ryan Medders,” while Smith played the game wearing a borrowed shirt bearing the name and number 26 of pitcher Jacob Dexter (Southern Maine).

• Dexter, correctly labeled in his own jersey, threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning. His sidearm two-seamer and slider kept the Blue Sox hitters off-balance, and he struck out the side.

• Shane Muntz (Wake Forest) hit the only home run of the game, pulling a ball about 10 feet inside the left-field foul pole. Four other balls, including Cunningham’s and Robertson’s looked to have home run distance, but Muntz was the only one who kept it fair. Muntz also worked both sides of the battery, catching briefly and pitching in the 11th.

• Originally scheduled as a doubleheader, the exhibition was changed to one 10-inning game. In order to allow all Kettleers pitchers to throw, the game went to 12 innings. To speed up the game, the Kettleers started throwing both halves of innings in the ninth inning. Ryan Smith (Princeton) was first to face his own teammates. He made his presence felt defensively with the Blue Sox, making a loud and forceful call for the ball on a popped-up bunt.