COTUIT - Cotuit Kettleers manager Mike Roberts
doesn’t favor a single elimination first round
playoff scenario, but was able to save most of
his bullpen as starting pitcher Justin Grimm
(Georgia) was dominant through six plus innings
of a 5-2 win against the Wareham Gateman at
Lowell Park.
The Gatemen will head home after losing their
final three games. They failed to secure a home
playoff game Wednesday after building an early
lead against Bourne. Cotuit will start a best of
three second round series Saturday at 3 p.m.
against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at Red
Wilson Field.
“I’ve never been in a ‘one-and-done’
when you’ve played a complete season
scenario,” Roberts said. “It’s not fun.
It’s not enjoyable. I think it’s very
difficult on everybody. You use pitching that
now you cannot use in the two out of three.”
Grimm blew a mid 90’s velocity fastball by
batters and mixed it with an effective curveball
and changeup. He tallied 10 strikeouts,
including five of the six batters he faced in
the second and third innings. One unearned run
was scored during Grimm’s outing on three
hits. He also walked three.
“You go out there some days, you don’t have
any pitches, maybe one or two working,” Grimm
said. “It’s just all about finding a rhythm
though. I got out there, found my pitches, so
that was really good.”
Grimm has been the tough luck pitcher of the
Cotuit staff, entering the game with a 1-4
record despite a 2.84 ERA, but got the win when
it mattered most. He had four inning ending
strikeouts.
“Justin is a young man who really works at
getting better,” Roberts said. “He’s
worked all summer on improving his changeup, his
rhythm. He didn’t feel like he had very good
rhythm today, but I thought he had outstanding
velocity.”
Grimm and Wareham starter Cole Green (Texas)
both allowed early base runners but made it
through the first two innings unscathed. Cotuit
broke through when Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech)
doubled to lead off the third inning and moved
over on a Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina) sac-bunt
before tagging and scoring on a deep sac fly to
left by Chris Bisson (Kentucky).
Texas teammate Kevin Keyes found a hole between
first and second with a broken bat single that
scored Cody Stanley (UNC-Wilmington) from second
to give the Kettleers a 2-0 lead in the fourth
inning.
Wareham got one back in the fifth when Zach
Wilson (Arizona State) reached on a throwing
error by Bisson and move up to second on a wild
pitch before Jake Lemmerman (Duke) drove him in
with a single down the right field line.
Stanley punctuated a Cotuit rally in the home
half of the fifth inning with a two run shot off
Green for his second home run of the season that
made the score 5-1.
“I figured I really wouldn’t hit any more,
cause my body was getting tired,” Stanley
said. “But I came today, stayed real loose,
and fortunately enough got the right pitch to do
it.”
The Kettleers executed a one out hit and run
with Noel at second base and a line drive up the
middle by Zach Cone (Georgia) to plate the first
run of the inning. Cotuit’s five runs were all
charged to Green, who lasted 4 2/3 innings and
surrendered all eight hits as well to take the
loss.
“We had eight hits tonight, and they were at
the right times,” Stanley said. “We did our
jobs and got a victory.”
Submariner Ben Rowen (Virginia Tech) relieved
Grimm after one batter in the seventh inning.
The Gatemen scratched a run across in the eighth
when Robert Kral (Charleston) led off with a
double and Shea Vucinich (Washington St.)
followed with an RBI-single. Rowen then induced
a grounder back to him that was converted as a
1-6-3 double play and a pop up to second ended
the inning.
With an arm warming in the bullpen, Rowen
finished the job himself, retiring the 4-5-6
hitters in the Wareham batting order in the
ninth inning.
“Ben’s been unbelievable for us all year,”
Roberts said. “I’ve always loved
submariners, and Ben is another one of those
guys who doesn’t have tremendous talent, but
he’s a tremendous competitor.”
Scott Rembisz (Florida International) and Matt
Barnes (UCONN) combined for 3 1/3 innings of
scoreless relief for Wareham. Rembisz struck out
two and walked one in an inning and one-third.
Barnes struck out three in the final two
innings.
