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2009
Cotuit Kettleers Game Recaps
... full
season stories
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McMahan,
Yarmouth-Dennis walk off with 9-8 win against Cotuit
story by Steve McCarthy
August 4, 2009
SOUTH YARMOUTH - It took all nine innings, but with
a confident swing by Ben McMahan the Yarmouth-Dennis
Red Sox were finally able to put away the stubborn
Cotuit Kettleers 9-8 in walk-off fashion Tuesday at
Red Wilson Field.
McMahan (Florida) buried a Ben
Rowen (Virginia Tech) fastball into the trees behind
the center field fence for his third home run of the
season. McMahan splits time at catcher with Micah
Gibbs (LSU) and has played in just 22 games.
McMahan’s blast was the only hit of the night
given up by Cotuit’s frequently used submariner
after entering with two runners on in the eighth
inning and stranding them at second and third. Rowen
fell to 4-2 with the loss. McMahon was the second
batter of the ninth inning, and stepped in after
Rowen had fanned three straight batters.
“I just
tried to see a pitch that I could hit well,”
McMahan said. “That guy’s throwing from almost
off the ground, it was kind of hard to see, but I
just got a pitch I could drive and did what I could
with it.”
Both teams have clinched playoff spots, and relied
on relievers to eat up innings and save the arms of
their regular starters. The result of the game was
more important to the Kettleers (20-18-5), who are
still determining their playoff seed. Y-D (27-15-1)
has already clinched the Eastern Division’s top
seed.
“It was nice that Benny hit that home run so
we didn’t have to go deep into our pen,” Y-D
manager Scott Pickler said. “We didn’t want to
have to use guys.”
The Red Sox held a comfortable 8-2 lead in the sixth
inning before Cotuit stormed back with a four run
seventh and two run eighth. Cameron Rupp
(Texas) belted a pair of two-run home runs to tie
the game at 2-2 and 8-8. The Kettleers loaded the
bases in the seventh inning before Kevin Keyes
(Texas) scored on a passed ball. Rico Noel (Coastal
Carolina) then drove in two with a double and stole
third before coming in to score on an RBI-groundout
by Chris Bisson (Kentucky). Rupp’ s second home
run, this time to left field tied the game 8-8.
Kevin Rhoderick (2-0, Oregon St.) pitched a
scoreless top of the ninth to earn the win. John
Leonard (Boston College) surrendered three hits but
no runs in a three and one-third inning pitch count
limited start. Recent acquisition Nick Serino
(UMass) was tagged for five runs in two and
two-thirds innings in his first appearance for the
Red Sox. Seth Simmons (East Carolina) was
responsible for the other three in two innings of
work.
“I wish the guys that threw, threw a little
bit better than they did for us so I could use them
in the playoffs,” Pickler said.
Y-D scored twice in the first frame against Cotuit
spot starter Jeff Walters (Georgia) with a two run
single by Steve Chatwood (San Diego). Walters
settled in for two more scoreless innings, but was
relieved by Navery Moore (Vanderbilt) in the fourth.
After Rupp tied the score 2-2 with a shot to center
field, Moore allowed three earned runs in the lone
inning he pitched. Chatwood scored on a fielder’s
choice in the fourth, and the two runners Moore left
on before departing with no outs in the fifth both
scored on a Brian Hernandez (UC Irvine) single and
Josh Rutledge (Alabama) double respectively.
The Red Sox tallied four runs in the fifth inning,
as Cotuit reliever Mike Nesseth (Nebraska) fared no
better and gave up a two run double to Chatwood.
Andres Caceres (Connors St. JC) walked in a run in
the sixth inning that marked the end of Y-D’s
early flood of scoring.
“We’ve been hitting the
ball great throughout the whole summer,” McMahan
said. “The pitching’s been great too, just today
was a little shaky, but we’re playing good as a
team.”
Cotuit will play their final regular season game
Wednesday when they host Brewster at 4:30 p.m.
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