The sun sets over McKeon Park. (Photo by Alysa Rubin)
by Clara Richards | Washington University in St. Louis
Hyannis, MA — In a high-stakes matchup in Hyannis, the winner between the Cotuit Kettleers and the Hyannis Harbor Hawks Tuesday night would claim possession of first place in the west division. Cotuit held the lead in the division since the start of the season. Coming into the fourth game between the two teams, the Ketts lay just one point ahead in the standings.
Cotuit held the momentum early, Tommy Troy (Stanford) getting on base with a single and advancing to third off of an error. He was brought in to score by CJ Kayfus (Miami) at third base. Yet the Harbor Hawks retaliated with runs of their own in the first, scoring off of a wild pitch from pitcher Zach Chappell (North Florida).
With a tied game coming into the top of the second, the Ketts brought in two more runs with back-to-back hits. Caleb Lomavita (California) continued his hot streak with a base hit, and the next at-bat, Josh Pearson (LSU) belted a homer over the longest point of the field for two RBI. It was Pearson’s second extra-base hit of the season and his first home run. In one swing of the bat, he snagged 2 RBI, more than the previous 17 games combined.
Yet the Ketts couldn’t get the outs they needed over the next six frames, and that, coupled with defensive errors, highlighted a weak point for the team. After an error to start off the bottom of the second, four runs crossed for the Harbor Hawks before Chappell relinquished the mound to Cam Wagoner (Eastern Michigan), who secured the last two outs. Wagoner pitched 2.2 innings with four hits and one earned run to finish out his Kettleers career.
With the score 5-3 for the Harbor Hawks going into the fourth inning, Hyannis only built on their lead. They scored a singular run in every one of the next even innings, bringing in three more runners across the plate.
Jaylen Paden (Georgia Southern) was brought in in the fifth for one inning pitched, and Max Gieg (Boston College) closed out the last three innings, credited with two earned runs for the last collegiate game of his career after also getting drafted earlier in the day.
Despite scoring three out of the first six at-bats, the Ketts offense stalled out over the late innings of the game. Moving forward, that’s an area that Roberts will attempt to address with an adjusted lineup. “We’ve really struggled with the bases loaded in the past week, so I’m going to have to revamp the lineup in some way,” he said. “You will see a very different lineup tomorrow…Hyannis is playing really well, and I have to congratulate them, but a lot of what we’re doing is beating ourselves.”
The Ketts play at Bourne at 6:00 p.m. for their thirty-fourth game of the season.
Reporter’s Notebook
Cam Wagoner, Cotuit Kettleers vs Bourne Braves, July 7, 2022 in Cotuit, Ma. (Photo/Alysa Rubin)
By Joe Pratt | Baylor University
The Ketts squander first place in the division with their 8-3 loss to Hyannis Tuesday night. While Cotuit has found minimal success on the diamond the past few days, they are succeeding in other areas. A whopping 27 Kettleers were selected in the MLB Draft including right-handed reliever Cameron Wagoner (Eastern Michigan). Wagoner received the call in the early afternoon on Tuesday from the Milwaukee Brewers in the 11th round.
“We were at Cotuit and then right when Roberts said, ‘If you guys get a call just step out,’ and I turned my phone off and I was like ‘I’m not gonna worry about it right now,’ and then right away – phone goes off and I was like, alright, I just ran outside answered the call and I was like, I can’t believe this right now,” Wagoner said.
Back in 2019, Wagoner was chosen by the Texas Rangers in round 22 as a senior in high school. But after not signing with Texas in ‘19, Wagoner will finally look to make a run at the big leagues.
The first time he got drafted, he said he was in the middle of putting in his contact lenses when he got the call. “Then I had like the ‘iffy-iffy,’: I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” he said. “But now I’m just stoked, because this is the big time, I finally got that call and I can … focus on baseball and just try my best to make it.”
Tonight, Wagoner had one last opportunity to pitch for Cotuit and on the Cape. In 2.2 innings pitched Cam Wagoner allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 3 strikeouts.
“I [was] kind of like, yeah, I got drafted, I don’t have anything to lose. But at the same time it’s kind of bittersweet,” the 6-foot-5 thrower said. “This is the last time you played with a lot of these guys, sadly, but I’m sure I’ll see them soon in the future.”
Moving forward, Wagoner looks to increase some velocity and unlock his strength in his lower half. He signed a $125,000 contract with a $2,500 signing bonus with the Brewers. But according to Cam, the Brew Crew could’ve offered him anything to play professional baseball.
“Are you kidding me? I would’ve signed for a jar of pickles this year. My first thing I’m buying is probably some McDonald’s, and then I got a little bit of a bonus so I’ll buy a nice little TV for it [and] sell my one back at home, and buy a new bed.”
Although some Ketts players such as Wagoner make their departures this week, a few new faces will be making their debuts with Cotuit. Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt) will start in the outfield on Wednesday night against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Sam Ruta (Army) hit .390 this spring and will also drive onto the Cape tomorrow. Finally left handed pitcher Joe Whitman (Purdue) joins the active roster for tomorrow’s game after coming over by way of the Northwoods league.