Cotuit Kettleers at Wareham Gatemen, July 30, 2022 in Wareham, Ma. (Photo/Alysa Rubin)
By Savannah Nowak | University of Rochester
Wareham, MA – The Kettleers took the field at Spillane for their first of back to back matchups against Wareham. The contest began as a pitchers duel between starters Daniel Brooks (College of Charleston) and Nick Hoffman (Clemson), but even with a clean defensive effort, the Cotuit bats were not lively enough to rival the breakout fourth inning from the Gatemen.
Daniel Brooks (College of Charleston) made his fifth start of the season. His outing appeared to be promising, retiring the first ten batters he faced, but a loop single to right from Ryan Campos (Arizona State) was the catalyst the Gatemen needed to get to Brooks. After walking the next batter, the Charleston product allowed a hard hit single up the middle, scoring the Gatemen’s first run. Wareham would go on to tally two more runs in the fourth after a pair of base hits reached the outfield. This three run inning forced Coach Roberts to make a pitching change, going to Cole McNamee (Georgia Tech) who recorded the final out of the inning.
McNamee came back out to pitch the fifth and sixth innings, giving up three runs on four hits with a lot of traffic on the bases for the Gatemen. In the seventh, Jalen Payden (Georgia Southern) made his fifth appearance of the summer. The right-hander pitched a scoreless inning, striking out two and stranding a runner on third. The final pitching change for the Ketts came in the eighth. Max Meier (Stanford) induced a flyout and two ground outs to end the night for the Cotuit pitching staff.
The Ketts offense was quiet, only scoring two runs on four hits, with RBI’s from Carter Trice (North Carolina State) and Sam Ruta (Army). In his first plate appearance, Trice hit a homerun to deep right-center field for his fifth long-ball of the year. He helped the Ketts produce another run in the fourth when he laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving CJ Kayfus (Miami) and Eddie Park (Stanford) into scoring position. In the following at bat, Sam Ruta sharply hit a ground ball to the second baseman, scoring Kayfus from third. These were the only runs produced by the Kettleers offense, as they were kept quiet by relievers Brian Young (Rider) and Nikolas Mazza (Southern Mississippi).
Eddie Park (Stanford) was the only Kettleer with multiple hits against the Gatemen. Going 2-4 with two singles, Park has shown more consistency and confidence at the plate in recent outings. Working all fields, the Stanford product has become a spark for Cotuit’s offense, especially moving up in the order. Even with movement in the lineup, the lefty’s approach has remained the same, “Everyone out here is good, pitchers won’t pitch the three hole or nine hole any differently.” Playing with confidence in right field and at the plate has solidified Park’s role in the Kettleers playoff run.
The Kettleers are looking to bounce back as they will welcome Wareham to Lowell Park Sunday afternoon with first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.
Reporter’s notebook: Takeaways from the game
By Clara Richards | Washington University in St. Louis
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Carter Trice is one of two players remaining from the opening day lineup against Chatham. Trice, who played in 2021 for the Ketts, always showed he could hit for power, often sitting in the designated hitter spot in the first half of the season. In his performance in July, though, he’s remained a consistent glove in the outfield, making over-the-shoulder catches with ease and tracking down long plays. The outfield has once again been a strong point of defensive play for the Ketts— Brooks relied on them for two of the first three outs— and Trice has been a steady anchor.
He’s also been working on honing his swing, relying on Roberts’ guidance to work on staying balanced and staying patient at the plate. “I’m just putting more work into it at practice and things of that nature,” he said. “Just paying more attention to detail.”
His approach tonight paid off, driving in the first run with a solo shot deep into the outfield.
His mentality at the plate? Not too complicated, he reported back.
“Just looking for the fastball and trying to hit hard in the outfield.”
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On July 29, the Ketts’ home run leader and first baseman Tyler Johnson (Coastal Carolina) got a call from the Detroit Tigers welcoming him into the organization. After playing thirty games on the Cape, the upperclassmen would conclude his summer ball career hitting .261 with seven home runs. He was credited with 19 RBIs.