story by Steve McCarthy
July 2, 2010
COTUIT - The Cotuit Kettleers did something on Friday
at Lowell Park that they were unable to do the entire
first month of the Cape Cod Baseball League season: Win
a second consecutive game.
The Kettleers
defeated the Wareham Gatemen 4-3 to follow an 8-5 win in
Wareham on Wednesday. Cotuit (6-10-1) advanced within
three points of the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, who are in
third place in the Western Division standings. The
Kettleers and Harbor Hawks will meet on Saturday at
McKeon Park in Hyannis.
Wareham has lost
five straight and fell to 4-12.
Recent Arizona
State University freshmen arrivals Deven Marrero and
Brady Rodgers provided the game-winning run and the win
in extended relief, respectively. Shortstop Marrero led
off the seventh inning with a single and advanced on an
error and a bunt single before breaking the 3-3 tie on
Zach Cone's (Georgia) fielder's choice. Marrero was also
one of two Cotuit baserunners to score in the fourth
inning on Curt Casali's (Vanderbilt) single.
“I was just
trying to get on, trying to get something going,”
Marrero said.
Rodgers faced the
minimum through three and two-thirds shutout innings in
his Cotuit debut in relief of starter Nick Tropeano
(Stony Brook). Rodgers surrendered one hit and induced
six ground ball outs, while throwing 20 of his 29
pitches for
strikes.
“My goal was to
throw strikes, trust the defense, and let them back me
up,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers served in
both starting and relief roles during his first spring
at ASU and said he is willing to throw extended innings
out of Cotuit's bullpen.
“I just go out
there and go as long as coach leaves me in there,”
Rodgers said. “I'm just going out there and doing my
job and contributing to the team.”
The Kettleers
capitalized on three Wareham errors for two unearned
runs. Wareham starting pitcher Jed Bradley (Georgia
Tech) took the loss despite fanning seven through seven
and two-thirds innings. All six Cotuit hits and four
runs crossed during Bradley's outing.
“(Bradley) did
great. His defense played well and they're a good
team,” Marrero said. “We just had to stay focused
and keep our at-bats.”
Andrew McKirahan
(Texas) and Kenneth Ferrer (Elon) combined to pitch the
eighth inning for Wareham.
The Gatemen scored
twice in their first at-bat but lost the lead in the
fourth inning and would not re-gain it. Cotuit scored
three runs in the fourth inning on a Paul Hoilman (East
Tennessee St.) solo home run and Casali's hit.
Alex Dickerson's
(Indiana) RBI single tied the game in the fifth.
Tropeano entered
the game as the Cape League's strikeout leader with 22
through his first three starts, but added just four to
his total through five and one-third innings. He allowed
eight hits and walked one. All three Wareham runs were
earned.
Wareham's Zach
Wilson (Arizona St.) went 3-for-3, while Jordan Leyland
(UC-Irvine) was Cotuit's only player with multiple hits,
going 2-for-4.
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