The Cotuit Kettleers opened the 2021 Cape Cod League Playoffs with a resounding 15-6 win over the Bourne Braves. The offensive production was something that Cotuit fans have become accustomed to over the last couple weeks of the season.
The Kettleers have scored 10+ runs in six of the last eight games. Over that span, the offense has averaged 10.13 runs per game. As a team, the Kettleers have compiled a remarkable .351 batting average in the last eight games. In that stretch, the offense has produced 11 home runs and 31 extra base hits. For the season, Cotuit led the league in runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. The Kettleers also had the least amount of strikeouts in the league by over 50 K’s.
Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) has been unstoppable in the leadoff spot. Grady has a nine-game hitting streak and multiple hits in six straight games. Over the last nine games, Grady is 19-43 (.442 average) with 11 runs scored. In those 43 at-bats, Grady’s struck out just twice. The switch-hitter skied a three-run homer in game one of the Western Division playoffs, his third in the last five games. The switch-hitter is hitting .349 with five homers over 20 games.
Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) has been on fire at the plate for two weeks. Ritter has a 12-game hitting streak dating back to July 23rd. Over the last 12 games, Ritter is 20-40 (.500 AVG) with 15 runs scored. Over that stretch, he’s also walked eight times and struck out just five times. Four of his 20 hits have gone for extra bases. The Kentucky product is hitting .337 through 32 games this summer.
Eric Brown Jr. (Coastal Carolina) has multiple hits in four of the last five games. In the last eight games, Brown is 14-33 (.424 AVG) with 14 RBI. He’s driven in a run and scored a run in seven of the last eight games. Brown has scored 12 runs and produced four extra base hits in the stretch. For the season, he’s hitting .287 with five homers over 34 games.
Brett Roberts (Florida State) has a six-game hitting streak after his ‘ground-rule double’ last night. Over the last six games, he’s 10-23 (.435 AVG) with eight RBI and eight runs. He’s driven in a run and scored a run in five of the six games. Roberts is hitting .299 for the season in 28 games.
Nathan Martorella (California) has a hit in seven of the last eight games. Martorella has produced back-to-back three-hit games after falling a triple short of the cycle against Bourne in game one. Martorella is 11-31 (.355 AVG) over the last eight games. Martorella’s season average is up to .286 through 29 games. He has just two homers this summer, but both have come in the last six games.
After going 0-4 on July 20th, Matthew Donlan (UConn) had a season average of .154. 13 days later, he finished the regular season with a .254 average. Donlan has a hit in eight of the last nine games. Donlan is 12-33 (.364) over the nine-game span with five runs scored.
Matt Suggs (UNC Wilmington) is heating up at the right time. Suggs has a hit in five of the last six games and back-to-back multi-hit games. Over the last two games, he’s 4-6 with three runs scored and three RBI. His two-run homer, his second of the summer, sparked the Kettleers’ offensive explosion in game one on Friday.
Suggs’ UNC Wilmington teammate, Noah Bridges, has been one of Cotuit’s most clutch hitters lately, gaining the nickname ‘Big-Hit Bridges.’ Over the last eight games, Bridges has driven in 11 runs. He’s scored a run in five of the last six games.
The Kettleers’ offense will be back in action on Saturday evening at 4:00 PM from Lowell Park for game two of the Western Division Playoff series against Bourne.