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2009
Cotuit Kettleers Game Recaps
... full
season stories
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Bell’s
no-hitter in 8-2 win ends Cotuit’s six game skid
story
by Steve McCarthy
July 12, 2009
CHATHAM - During the
top of the ninth inning Sunday at Chatham’s
Veterans field, Cotuit Kettleers starting pitcher
Chad Bell (Walters St. JC) was the only person able
to sit still.
As he strode out of the dugout for the final time,
with a zero still in the Anglers’ hit column and
an empty Cotuit bullpen, the capacity crowd on hand
was masked by an eerie silence. Then, when catcher
Cameron Rupp’s mitt popped and he held strike
three for the final out of an 8-2 no-hitter, Bell
had even the most loyal Anglers fan rising in
appreciation.
“I did tell Coach yesterday he wasn’t going to
need the bullpen,” Bell said. “I was planning on
a complete game-wasn’t really planning on a
no-hitter, but it worked out pretty good.”
Bell (2-1) needed 121 pitches to stymie the potent
Anglers lineup for nine innings. It was his highest
pitch count of the season by 29 pitches, and
followed a July 6 outing in Brewster in which he
retired sixteen batters in a row before being
relieved after six innings. Bell said it was his
second no-hitter. He recorded one in high school as
well.
“You just sit back and watch and enjoy it right
there,” Cotuit pitching coach Scott Gurss said.
“That’s all you can do is just sit back, take in
the moment, and just let Bell do his thing. He threw
unbelievably well today, and I’m definitely proud
of that guy.”
The southpaw from Knoxville, TN hinted at the
spectacle when he retired the first 14 batters in
order. After a two-out walk in the fifth inning
allowed Chatham their first
base-runner, Bell sent Phillip Pohl (Clemson) back
to the dugout the same way all but one of his
teammates eventually did, with one of eight
strikeouts.
Bell was noticeably laboring trying to get the final
three outs. He walked Tyler Rahmatulla (UCLA) to
lead off the inning, then a throwing error by Cotuit
third baseman Chris Bisson (Kentucky) gave the
Anglers two runners in scoring position, and
Kettleers reliever Matt Grace (UCLA) jogged out to
the bullpen.
Bisson’s mishap was the only blemish in the
Kettleers’ defensive performance all night though.
A grounder up the middle fielded cleanly by second
baseman Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina) recorded out
number 25, while Rahmatulla came in for an un-earned
run. Whit Merrifield (South Carolina) slid in from
third for the second un-earned run on a wild pitch.
With the bases empty again, Chatham’s
Joey Terdoslavich (Long Beach St.) sent a slow
grounder to Noel, who threw to first baseman Brandon
May (Alabama) for the second out.
In stepped clean-up hitter Rick Oropesa (USC), who
at the time was one of two Anglers yet to be fanned.
A valiant swing at a 2-2 change-up proved fruitless,
and Rupp sprinted out to embrace his battery mate.
“The ninth inning, the only thing I could throw
for a strike really that last thing was my
change-up,” Bell said. “My fastball was kind of
all over the place.”
Everything that had ailed the Kettleers through a
six game losing streak- more errors than runs,
inconsistent pitching- was left in the past. Bell
received support from home runs by May and Kevin
Keyes (Texas), and the benefits of opposing pitchers
losing command.
“We came out and just relaxed finally,” Gurss
said. “We got a lot of line drives, a lot of balls
that left the park. That’s all we just tell them
to do is just relax, and just enjoy and play the
game.”
A three run fourth inning opened up a 4-0 lead for
Cotuit. Chatham starting
pitcher Tyler Lyons (Oklahoma St.) loaded the bases
with three straight walks, then an RBI-single by
May, a walk by Bisson, and Brian Guinn’s sac-fly
brought all three home.
May was the offensive catalyst for Cotuit, driving
in four runs with two swings of the bat, the second
being a three run homer in the eighth inning.
“The pitching’s so good up here, each night you
want to have good at bats, and tonight I did,” May
said. “It was good for that, because I feel like
I’ve been struggling a little bit.”
Keyes lifted a towering solo shot to right-center
field in the first inning from the third spot in the
batting order that barely cleared the fence. He also
went 2-for-5 with a double and reached base four
times.
Lyons (1-2) stayed in the game through five and
two-thirds innings and took the loss. He allowed
four runs on four hits and struck out six. He also
walked four and hit two batters.
Ryan Leach (UNC) allowed May’s home run, before
handing the ball over to Thomas Keeling (Oklahoma
St.) with two outs in the eighth. Keeling walked
Rupp with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to
allow Cotuit’s final run.
Along with five walks between the three Chatham
pitchers, six Cotuit batters were hit by pitches. |
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