story by Steve McCarthy
July 21, 2010
COTUIT - After being limited to a bunt single through
the first six innings, the Cotuit Kettleers rallied in
the seventh to beat the Bourne Braves 2-1 and break the
tie for first place in the Cape Cod Baseball League's
Western Division.
It is the first
time this season Cotuit (16-13-2) has taken the outright
division lead and they are riding a five-game winning
streak into a stretch of three road games. They are
7-2-1 in their last 10.
“We just all
bought in, all came together, and it's paid off for
us,” Cotuit starting pitcher Nick Tropeano (Stony
Brook) said.
Bourne fell to
16-15 and has lost two in a row.
The game was called
due to darkness with one out in the ninth inning.
Bourne southpaw
starting pitcher Austin Stadler (Wake Forest) departed
after six innings with the one-hitter intact. He struck
out three and walked two. Cotuit's Deven Marrero
(Arizona St.) broke up the no-hit bid in the sixth.
“We were getting
no-hit through five innings so I just had to try
something to see if we could break it open,” Marrero
said. “Fortunately, it did.”
The lefty-dominated
Kettleers lineup woke up against right-handed reliever
R.J. Alvarez (2-2, Florida Atlantic). Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine)
doubled to lead off the seventh inning and advanced on a
groundout before Levi Hyams (Georgia) bunted him in.
John Hinson (Clemson) followed with a single into left
field and stole second before Marrero brought him around
with a two-out base hit to right.
“He threw me a
fastball away and I just threw my hands and it dropped
out there,” Marrero said.
Tropeano(1-3)
finally received some offensive support to earn his
first victory of the summer despite ranking second in
the league in strikeouts (39). Tropeano went seven-plus
innings for his third straight outing, scattering seven
hits and striking out four. He did not walk a batter,
but hit two.
Tropeano's lone
costly mistake led off the seventh inning when Coastal
Carolina's Daniel Bowman launched a fastball into the
trees behind the left field fence.
“I just left a
fastball up right down the middle and that's what a good
hitter should do,” Tropeano said.
Tropeano stranded
three Bourne baserunners in scoring position with two
advancing with one out in innings.
“I love throwing
behind this 'D',” Tropeano said. “They definitely
picked me up a few times and I appreciated it.”
A.J. Achter
(Michigan St.) came on to earn the save (3), striking
out two.
Thomas Kahnle
(Lynn) pitched a scoreless eighth for Bourne.
Marrero and
Bourne's Jason Coats (TCU) were the game's only players
with multiple hits. Bourne out-hit Cotuit 7-5.
The Kettleers will
travel to Yarmouth-Dennis on Thursday for a 5 p.m. game.
|
