story by Steve McCarthy
June 21, 2010
COTUIT - Seven runs on three hits with three errors.
It's an atypical scoring line, but the Cotuit Kettleers
will take it if it means a 7-5 win and the end of a four
game winless streak.
All of the runs in
Monday's game between host Cotuit and the Falmouth
Commodores crossed in the second inning. Both starting
pitchers struggled with command and walked a combined
ten batters in the frame.
Cotuit improved to
2-5-1 while Falmouth fell to 4-4.
“I don't think a
lot of teams are going to walk us as much as that, so
hopefully we can pick up the sticks a little more and
clean it up a little bit more on defense,” Cotuit
shortstop Levi Hyams (Georgia) said. “But hey, a win's
a win. We'll take it.”
After a brief first
inning for Cotuit starter Matt Murray (Georgia Southern)
and Falmouth's Taylor Wall (Rice), Murray faced all nine
Commodores in the top of the second while Wall and
Falmouth reliever Rob Chamra (NC State) had to start on
a second lap around the Cotuit order.
Falmouth's Matt
Skole (Georgia Tech) trotted in from third as Cotuit
catcher Curt Casali's (Vanderbilt) low throw down to
second on a first-and-third steal attempt by Barrett
Barnes (Texas Tech) skipped into center field. Murray
walked in the second run before Nick Martini (Kansas
State) cleared the bases with a double up the
right-center field gap.
Facing an early 5-0
deficit for the second straight night, Kettleers hitters
were able to be selective in their half of the second as
Wall walked five of the first six batters he faced. Zach
Cone (Georgia) landed a three-run single into right
field and Paul Hoilman (East Tennessee St.) drilled an
RBI-double.
“We weren't going
to help him out when they were struggling to find the
zone, but as soon as they gave us something we could
handle, we were jumping on it,” Hoilman said.
Neither starter
factored in the decision as Chamra (0-1) took the loss
and Cotuit's David Colvin (1-0, Pomona-Pitzer) picked up
the win. Wall lasted an inning and one-third and was
charged with Cotuit's first six runs. He walked six and
struck out three. Just one of Falmouth's five runs off
Murray in two innings was earned.
Colvin spelled
Murray with a pair of perfect innings. A.J. Achter
(Michigan St.) and Brooks Pinckard (Baylor) followed out
of Cotuit's bullpen before Kyle McMillen (Kent St.) came
on for the two-inning save (1).
Chamra lasted two
and two-thirds innings. He walked two and struck out
one. Matt Summers (UC Irvine) took the Commodores
through the eight inning and Nick Brown (Iowa) pitched
the ninth.
Falmouth threatened
by loading the bases in the sixth inning, but the
Kettleers were able to execute the hidden ball trick and
pull Falmouth's Andrew Susac (Oregon St.) off third.
Third baseman Hoilman said the Kettleers discussed the
play in a preceding mound visit and alerted the home
plate umpire that they might attempt it. Even then, the
umpiring crew missed Hoilman's tag, but overturned the
call after a conference.
“We were just
hoping they'd be lackadaisical out there and decided
we'd go and try to steal an out if we could,” Hoilman
said.
“That just shut
their momentum down and put it back on us,” Hyams
said.
The Kettleers also
turned an inning-ending double play in the third to
leave a runner stranded on third base.
Barnes went 4-for-4
to lead the Commodores' offense, which pounded out 13
hits. He also stole two bases.
Hoilman, Cone, and
Kevin Patterson (Auburn) accounted for Cotuit's three
hits.
“We've got a good
team and everybody in the dugout knows that,” Hoilman
said. “It's just a matter of time before we start
clicking together in the lineup and hitting it as a
whole.”
The Kettleers have
Tuesday off before traveling to Brewster on Wednesday
for a 5 p.m. game.
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