story by Steve McCarthy
July 25, 2010
COTUIT - Maybe a break was all the Cotuit Kettleers'
offense needed.
Playing a complete
game for the first time since Thursday due to rain, the
Kettleers suppressed the memory of being one-hit by the
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox by amassing 12 runs in the first
five innings Sunday to beat the wet weather, and the
Eastern Division-leading Brewster Whitecaps, 12-2.
The victory moved
Cotuit (17-14-2) back into sole possession of first
place in the West, while Brewster (22-13) lost its
fourth straight and leads Y-D by just two points. The
Kettleers will visit Orleans on Monday.
Entering Sunday's
game with just two RBIs in nine games on the summer,
Cotuit second baseman John Hinson (Clemson) drove in
three and went 4-for-5 with a double and a stolen base.
Levi Hyams (Georgia) hit his first home run of the
season and Michael Yastrzemski (Vanderbilt) went 2-for-3
with three RBIs.
“Our whole team
was seeing the ball well tonight and we just played
all-around good baseball,” Hinson said.
Five Cotuit batters
had multiple hits and four scored multiple runs.
Overshadowed by the offensive outburst was Kettleers
starting pitcher Bobby Shore (Oklahoma), who dealt five
innings without allowing an earned run and struck out
six. A.J. Achter (Michigan St.) pitched three shutout
innings of relief and Michael Frongello (Davidson)
surrendered Brewster's second run in the ninth inning.
The Kettleers were
relentless on the basepaths to capitalize on timely
hitting. Michael Faulkner (Arkansas St.) walked to start
the game and stole second and third before Yastrzemski
and Hinson provided consecutive two-out RBI-singles.
“When we start
running, I think that's when we hit the best as a
team,” Hinson said. “Having that confidence on the
offensive side really helps, and the running game really
improves that.”
Cotuit broke the
game open with a four-run third inning, punctuated by
Hyams' two-run shot to right. It was Hyams' first
extra-base hit of the summer, despite carrying a .243
average.
“To be honest, I
really didn't take much of a hack on that,” Hyams
said. “I was taking a two-strike approach and he put
one knee-high and I flipped the wrists at it. It was
lucky to get out.”
Five more runs
followed in the fourth inning thanks to a two-run single
by Yastrzemski and a two-run double by Hinson.
As Cotuit's rally
commenced, the rain intensified and darkness crept over
Lowell Park. Fortunately for the Kettleers, the umpiring
crew let the game go on, as five complete innings define
a complete game.
Hinson drove in
Chad Wright (Kentucky) from second in the fifth inning
to cap the rout before Cotuit field manager Mike Roberts
began inserting reserves.
When the game
mercifully ended after two hours and 50 minutes, Cotuit
had out-hit Brewster 15-9. Whitecaps starting pitcher
Jake Floethe (CSU-Fullerton) allowed six earned runs in
the first three innings and Matt Larkins (UC-Riverside)
was tagged for the same over the next inning and
two-thirds. Billy Soule (Minnesota) and Cohl Walla
(Texas) combined to finish the game.
Taylor Ard (Mt.
Hood) and Derek Jones (Washington St.) had two hits
apiece for Brewster.
“To have a couple
of rain-out days to just go home and chill, it's helped
out a lot,” Hyams said. “We came out pretty relaxed
today and had some fun.”
|
