By James Middleton | West Chester University 

Chatham, MA – For the final time this regular season, the Ketts took on the Chatham Anglers at Veterans Field. Three new pitchers saw action for the Ketts on Tuesday night, as Roberts’ new staff saw minimal luck in their 10-2 loss to the Chatham Anglers. 

 Joe Whitman (Purdue) started on the hill and struggled early on by allowing two runs in the first inning. One Angler crossed home on an error, while the other scored on a pair of sacrifice flies. Whitman was able to settle down in his second inning with no runs, despite 2 batters reaching base. He was taken out after the second inning with a line of 2 IP, 1 K, 2 R, and 1 ER. 

Cotuit Kettleers at Chatham Anglers, July 26, 2022 in Chatham, Ma. (Photo/Alysa Rubin)

Will Jacobsen (Harvard) would come into the game in the third for the Ketts. He pitched three frames, striking out four while allowing one run. The lead expanded for the Anglers when Noah Short (West Virginia) came in for his first appearance, with his first pitch striking the lead off batter. The next two batters he faced got on with a single to left field and a hit by pitch, loading the bases. With the bases loaded Short got ahead of Anthony Nunez (Tampa), but on the third pitch Short hung a breaking ball and Nunez sent it over the right field wall for a grand slam. The Anglers would take a 7-2 lead with the home run. Roberts kept the right-hander in for two more batters where he would strike out one and walk one before Ryan Bruno (Stanford) came in to make his Cape League debut. Bruno stranded the runner at third with a pop out and strikeout to end the inning. 

The Ketts got their only two runs in the fourth after Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Vanderbilt) reached with a single, Carter Trice (NC State) walked and Tyler Johnson (Coastal Carolina) reached with a hit by pitch to load the bases. Sam Ruta (Army) stepped into the box and lined a ball right past the third baseman to score Bradfield. Calvin Harris (Ole Miss) put a ball into left field which brought home Trice. This put Cotuit within one at the time and ended up being their only runs of the game. Cotuit was within one of the Anglers until they put up four runs in the sixth. 

Jaylen Paden (Georgia Southern) entered the game in the seventh for Cotuit. Chatham added three more tallies after Paden loaded the bases in the eighth. Two runs came in on sacrifice flies, with another coming home on a hit by pitch for the Anglers. 

Hyannis lost 3-1 to Brewster to keep the Ketts just one point behind the Hawks in the West. Cotuit welcomes Hyannis to Lowell Park Wednesday afternoon to decide whether the Ketts take the top spot or if the Hawks maintain their stronghold on the division. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

Reporter’s Notebook: Takeaways from the game

By Joe Pratt | Baylor University 

The Ketts traveled to Veterans Field for the first time since opening day on June 12. Just 6 players from the opening day roster remain on the active list for Cotuit to this point. Carter Trice (NC State) was the lone Kett out of those 6 in the starting  lineup tonight. Carter Trice went 0-for-2 with 2 walks and a run scored tonight compared to an 0-for-2 day with 1 free pass in game 1. Will Jacobsen (Harvard) was the other player from that team to make an appearance Tuesday night. 

Just as every player did almost six weeks ago, three new additions to the Kettleers’ pitching staff made

Cotuit Kettleers at Chatham Anglers, July 26, 2022 in Chatham, Ma. (Photo/Alysa Rubin)

their Cape League debuts. Joe Whitman (Purdue) is coming off his sophomore season with the Boilermakers. After not starting a game in 14 appearances at Purdue, the left hander started on the bump for Cotuit against Chatham. After 41 pitches and 1 earned run, Whitman was replaced by Jacobsen. 

Noah Short (West Virginia) and Ryan Bruno (Stanford) took on the sixth inning. Short came in relief of Jacobsen and only managed to retire one batter in 6 faced. Noah Short redshirted and is heading into his senior season at WVU after pitching nearly 30 innings with the Mountaineers this season. He held an ERA of 4.25 and gave up only 2 homers all year. One time during the spring Short gave up 4 runs in a single outing, and tonight, the RHP matched that mark with one swing. Ryan Bruno took care of the final 2 outs and came out of the ‘pen firing 95 plus fastballs to compliment a low-80s slider. 

The pitching staff as a whole struggled to retire batters as Angler hitters reached base in virtually every single way a man could get on the paths. With 3 errors, 8 walks, 4 HBPs and 6 hits, 21 players got on base, 14 of them advancing to scoring position. Out of the 10 runs, only 6 of them were earned 

The offense experienced minimal success, as well. Coming off a season-high 12 runs Monday night, the Ketts bats fell silent with a couple of runs on ( hits. In their past 5 matchups leading into game 38, the Kettleers were 15-for-49 for a .306 clip. Against the two total Chatham throwers tonight, Cotuit hit .200 at 2-for-10. The Ketts’ road record falls to 11-5-3 in their steepest deficit on the road this season. 

First place in the West division could be on the line Wednesday when the Ketts play at home against Hyannis. The Hawks are currently one point ahead of Cotuit as they play a 4:30 p.m. contest tomorrow and a 6:00 p.m. game in Hyannis on Friday.