By Ben Fischer

University of Maryland

July 2, 2018

FALMOUTH – Trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, Will Robertson (Creighton) stepped in for the Cotuit Kettleers with one out and the bases empty. Robertson fell behind 1-2 before blasting a fastball to dead center field for his second home run of the season. While the Kettleers were unable to recreate the game-winning heroics of their Monday win, Robertson’s late blast earned the Kettleers’ a 2-2 tie against the Falmouth Commodores.

After missing two games with a wrist injury and spending one game in the cleanup spot, Robertson has returned to his usual leadoff role for the last three contests.

“Maybe the wrist injury helped him because the bat has flung through the strike zone pretty good since he came back,” coach Mike Roberts said. “I love him in the leadoff spot. He’s extremely similar to Griffin Conine in that leadoff spot and I love someone who makes consistent solid contact in the leadoff spot.”

Conine, a Duke product, spent last summer in Cotuit and was the second round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2018 MLB draft.

Will Robertson (Creighton) at bat for the Kettleers against the Orleans Firebirds on June 20, 2018

Cotuit took the lead in the third inning. Catcher Zach Humphreys (TCU) led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a single by Robertson. First baseman Zach Biermann (Coastal Carolina) drove Humphreys in with a sacrifice fly for his team-leading 12th RBI.

Falmouth took the lead with runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Commodores tied the game in the fifth with an RBI single by designated hitter Steven Williams (Auburn). First baseman Davis Sims (Murray State) put Falmouth in the lead with another RBI single in the seventh.

After Robertson’s home run, the teams traded zeroes until the twelfth inning, when the game reached the Cape League’s inning limit. Both teams stranded runners in scoring position in extras, Cotuit in the tenth and Falmouth in the twelfth.

Cotuit received a stellar start from Seth Shuman (Georgia Southern). Shuman, who had struggled early in the year, threw five shutout innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while fanning five hitters.

Roberts praised Shuman much in the way he does all his pitchers. Roberts said he liked how Shuman threw strikes and “competed” against Falmouth.

Cotuit returns home tomorrow to face the Wareham Gatemen at Lowell Park at 5 p.m. The Kettleers lost 4-2 in their only meeting with Wareham on the season.