Bourne, MA- There wasn’t a significant difference between the Cotuit Kettleers’ first trip of the season to Doran Park and their most recent trip on Sunday night. Both games were dominated by pitchers and defense. The only difference this time around: it was the Braves that came out on top by a score of 3-1. The Kettleers dropped their second straight game as their winning percentage dropped back down to .500. Despite the loss, head coach Mike Roberts was pleased with his team’s efforts. He said, “I was really pleased with the whole team. It was a great game between the first and second place teams in the division. Was just a great ball game.”

Moments that mattered:

Bourne’s two-out rally leads to three-run fifth

Jake Brooks (UCLA) looked well on his way to another gem before a two-out bloop single in the fifth. After entering the night as the league’s leader in ERA, Brooks started his night with four scoreless innings. The two-out blooper was the Braves’ first hit of the night. Following the blooper, Christian Knapczyk opened the scoring with a double into the left-center gap. Max Anderson capped a seven-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer over the left field fence, the first homer hit off Brooks this summer.

Gieg keeps the Kettleers in the game

Max Gieg (Boston College) entered the game after the home run with two outs in the fifth. The Kettleers didn’t lose any more ground on the Braves after Gieg toed the rubber. After getting out of the fifth inning, the right-handed pitcher posted three straight zeroes on the board. Gieg was dialed into the strike zone, as he walked just one batter over 3.1 innings pitched. He allowed just three hits and struck out two.

Roberts was ecstatic with the progress Gieg has made this summer. After a rough spring at Boston College, Gieg has compiled a 1.88 ERA in 14.1 IP as a Kettleer. Roberts said, “I’m so pleased with his progress. Absolutely thrilled with it. He’s done what we’ve asked him to do. I thought he was fantastic. He gave us a chance to win the ball game.”

Offense shows life in seventh, but can’t muster enough for comeback

It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Kettleers got on the board. Nate Martorella (California) singled to lead off the inning and was moved to third after Alec Sayre’s (Wright State) second hit of the game. Martorella crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Another runner was stranded on third as Cotuit couldn’t inch any closer. Cotuit went down in order in the next two innings as they couldn’t rally against the Bourne relievers.

Despite having just four runs over their last two games, Roberts expects the offense to kick itself back into gear soon. “I think this offense will ignite itself. I’m not worried about that; you just can’t always depend on offense. You got to throw strikes and play good defense,” said Roberts.

Notables:

Gieg: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 R

Brooks: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 R

Sayre: 2-3

Martorella: 1-4, 1 R

Up next: The Kettleers will be back on the road on Monday as they travel to Brewster. First pitch will be at 5:00 PM from Stony Brook Field.