story by Steve McCarthy
June 26, 2010
COTUIT - University of Arkansas catcher James McCann
homered in his second at bat as a Cotuit Kettleer
Saturday afternoon, and teammates Paul Hoilman (East
Tennessee St.) and Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine) followed
suit, as the Kettleers ended a three-game skid with a
9-2 victory over the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at Lowell
Park.
It was the most run
production in a game by a Kettleers lineup stacked with
power bats but struggling to produce. Cotuit erupted for
six runs in the sixth inning to gap their opponents.
“Long balls
obviously can change a game in a hurry,” Cotuit
manager Mike Roberts said. “Today, three of them
changed it in a hurry.”
Y-D's loss
squelched a five-game winning streak. They fell to 8-4,
while Cotuit improved to 3-8-1.
McCann's
fifth-inning solo shot into the trees behind the left
field fence broke a 1-1 tie which had held since the
second. McCann's arrival on Cape Cod was delayed due to
Arkansas' appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals. He was
activated on Cotuit's roster Saturday morning and was
the starting catcher.
“It felt good to
get us on the right track and get us a win,” McCann
said. “It felt good to be here and finally be on the
field.”
Hoilman, coming off
a 25 home run spring at ETSU, sent his first long ball
of the summer in the same direction, as the second
batter of the sixth inning. Leyland followed two batters
later with a two-run blast. C.J. Cron (Utah) added a
two-run double and Joey Hainsfurther (Baylor) bunted in
a run to complement the scoring in the inning.
Hainsfurther also bunted across Cotuit's first run.
“Hitting is
contagious,” McCann said. “We started putting the
bat on the ball and all of a sudden everyone started
hitting. It was a good team effort.”
Levi Hyams
(Georgia) scored on Michael Yastrzemski's (Vanderbilt)
RBI-single in the seventh inning for Cotuit's ninth run.
A.J. Achter
(Michigan St.) tossed four innings of scoreless relief
to earn the win. He replaced starter Josh Spence
(Arizona St.) after three innings. Achter worked out of
a bases-loaded jam with one out in the sixth inning.
“Up until
tonight, we have really struggled getting out of bases
loaded situations,” Roberts said. “Tonight when we
did, it did help us, but this is one of the first times
this year that we've come out of bases loaded situations
unscathed.”
Michael Frongello
(Davidson) and Kyle McMillen (Kent St.) each worked an
inning out of Cotuit's bullpen. McMillen surrendered
Y-D's second run in the ninth inning.
“It was a big
confidence boost for (our bullpen),” McMann said.
“We've got great arms on our staff, and it went well
for them tonight.”
The Red Sox left 14
baserunners stranded, despite compiling 10 hits. Cotuit
left just five runners aboard and pounded out 11 hits.
“We just stayed
within our approach, and stayed at the middle of the
field, and let our hands work for us,” McCann said.
Both defenses
played error-free to keep the scoring to a minimum early
on.
Y-D starting
pitcher Dustin Emmons (UC-Riverside) allowed Cotuit's
first two runs through four-plus innings. Losing pitcher
Matt Iannazzo (0-1, Pittsburgh) was touched for four
runs in the sixth inning and Ali Simpson finished the
game.
Yastrzemski and
Brooks Pinckard (Baylor) paced Cotuit with two hits
apiece. Cron, Hoilman, Leyland, and Hainsfurther each
drove in two runs.
Tyler Hanover (LSU)
had three doubles for Y-D. Jordon Ribera (Fresno St.)
went 2-for-5 and was the only other Red Sox player with
multiple hits.
Cotuit will travel
to Harwich on Sunday for a doubleheader, with games
starting at 4 and 7 p.m.
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