By Will Kraus, Bates College
Photos by Josh Muir, Endicott College
July 4th, 2019
The Kettleers fell back to a .500 winning percentage for the fourth time in the 2019 season after a 4-1 loss to Falmouth on Thursday at Lowell Park.
Holcomb the Highlight
Christopher Holcomb (Tulane) was undoubtedly the highlight of the game for Cotuit as the Marstons Mills native kept Cotuit within striking distance in the middle innings.
Holcomb came into the game in the fourth inning with the Kettleers already trailing 3-0 following Sean Sullivan’s (California Berkeley) start.
Holcomb throws home versus Falmouth
Holcomb wasn’t unhittable but he showed great poise as he won the battles when he had to.
Possibly Holcomb’s most impressive moment came against Falmouth’s clean-up hitter Troy Claunch (Oregon State) in the sixth inning.
A single to center had just loaded the bases with two outs and Holcomb faced a tough test against Claunch. But Holcomb rose to the occasion getting Claunch to fly out to left field to get out of the inning.
As important as it is to keep runners off the base paths, the ability to work yourself out of jams is a necessary ability for any pitcher at any level. Holcomb proved that he can handle that sort of pressure, when things aren’t exactly working perfectly.
Holcomb cut down four Commodores on strikes and left the game in the seventh with Falmouth still stuck on three runs.
The local Holcomb has now made six appearances for Cotuit and pitched eleven innings allowing just two runs giving him a 1.63 ERA.
Cotuit fans enjoy the game and the 4th
That makes Holcomb one of two Kettleers on the season to throw at least ten innings and have an ERA under 2.00, the other being Joe Nahas (Georgia Southern) who is leaving Cotuit for the summer to potentially sign a professional contract.
Holcomb has undoubtedly been a vital arm out of the bullpen and after his performance on Thursday it looks he will continue to be a go-to option for Coach Mike Roberts.
The Extra Base Hits Factor
It’s a statistic that has been repeated in the notes section many times in not so many ways, but the Kettleers are 8-0-1 when totaling at least three extra base hits and 1-9-1 when they don’t meet that threshold.
This statistic was initially uncovered by fellow writer Ben Gainsboro (Stetson University) weeks ago and it’s a statistic that continues to uncannily indicate the success of the Kettleers.
Next Game
Cotuit (9-9-2) has the opportunity to reclaim a winning record or fall to a losing record for the first time in 2019 on Friday night as the Kettleers travel to McKeon Park to face the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (3-15).
Cotuit defeated Hyannis in a thrilling 9-8 contest on Monday at Lowell Park. The Kettleers had their largest win at Hyannis early in the season as Cotuit downed the Harbor Hawks 11-0 on June 12th.