Photo by Josh Muir
Cotuit Kettleers vs Lexington Blu Sox
By Will Kraus, Intern-Bates College
June 9, 2019
COTUIT, MA – Here are some observations from yesterday’s exhibition of the Cotuit Kettleers versus the Lexington Blue Sox of the Boston Inter City League.
- The Kettleers pitchers combined to strikeout 18 batters over the 13 inning scrimmage, a possible sign that the 2019 Kettleers pitching staff will have some real swing and miss power.
- Matt Moore (Purdue) pitched the fourth inning for Cotuit, facing four batters. He struck out two and walked one.
- The Kettleers were aggressive on the base paths, stealing five bases. Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) had a game high with three stolen bases. The Kettleers were also picked off three times on the base paths, but as the game was a scrimmage that can hopefully be chalked up to Cotuit being extra risky in a low stakes situation.
- Bo Hofstra (Purdue) pitched the fifth inning, impressively striking out all three batters. His fastball was the put-away pitch on all three strikeouts.
- Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) pitched the ninth inning. He also had a very impressive debut, throwing the fastest pitch of any pitcher on the day. He reached 96 mph on multiple occasions and also struck out all three batters he faced, one looking.
- Casey Schmitt(San Diego State) threw the tenth inning for Cotuit. He gave up one infield hit but looked sharp, striking out two of the four men he faced. His fastball topped out at 93 mph.
- The Kettleers did have some struggles in the batter’s box with men in scoring position. Over twelve innings Cotuit went 0-12 with runners in scoring position.
- Cotuit ended up winning 6-2, in part due to a wild performance by a Lexington pitcher in the bottom of the twelfth inning. The pitcher walked three and hit three. He recorded one out on a sac fly to center field that scored the Kettleers’ fourth run of the inning. The inning was then called to allow for Cotuit to pitch one more half inning.
The Cotuit Kettleers open the Cape Cod Baseball League season Monday at 5 PM with a home game at Lowell Park versus the Y-D Red Sox. It’s the 73rd straight season for the Kettleers in the CCBL