story by Steve McCarthy
July 31, 2010
HYANNIS and CHATHAM - It started at 1:01 p.m.
at Hyannis' McKeon Park and ended at 10:37 p.m. at
Veterans Field in Chatham. At 2:50 the Cotuit Kettleers
learned they had clinched a playoff berth and the
Barnstable Patriot Cup. Nearly eight hours later they
were victims of a walk-off hit batsman.
It was a
doubleheader of nine inning games Saturday that the
Kettleers had to endure due to numerous mid-summer
postponements, which produced a 3-1 win for Cotuit
(19-18-2) over Hyannis (13-26) in Game 1 and a 10-9
defeat to Chatham (18-19-1) in the second game.
After Cotuit's Game
1 starting pitcher Austin Wood (St. Petersburg JC) gave
up a first inning home run to Hyannis' Casey McElroy
(Auburn), Kettleers leadoff hitter and left fielder
Michael Yastrzemski (Vanderbilt) singled in the
equalizer in the second and walked with the bases loaded
in the eighth. Chad Wright (Kentucky) was then hit by a
pitch.
The Kettleers
re-fueled with lunch at Veterans Park in Hyannis and
boarded the bus for a congested drive down Cape to
Chatham. Yastrzemski brought his hot bat along and
staked Cotuit to a 4-0 lead in the second inning of Game
2 with a grand slam off Chatham's Derek Self
(Louisville), his second home run of the summer.
I can't even
remember the last time I hit a grand slam,
Yastrzemski said. It was definitely cool.
Chatham's Ricky
Oropesa (USC) answered with a solo shot to straightaway
center in the home half of the inning, his sixth long
ball of the summer, but the Kettleers tacked on two more
runs in the third. The Anglers just wouldn't stay down,
though.
Oropesa was
intentionally walked with baserunners on second and
third in the fifth inning, allowing Cotuit starting
pitcher Matt Murray (Georgia Southern) to face Joe
Depinto (USC) instead. Depinto's sacrifice fly to right
ended up producing twice the trouble as right fielder
Brooks Pinckard's (Baylor) throw to third missed the
cut-off man.
Pinckard moved to
the mound for the next inning and allowed a run to make
it 6-5. The exhausted Kettleers weren't going to give up
that lead. They wanted this one bad.
Nick Tropeano
(Stony Brook), who had logged 52 innings over the summer
in eight starts made his first relief appearance in the
seventh. He struck out the side after Deven Marrero
(Arizona St.) singled in another run of support in the
top of the inning.
Since Pinckard
started the game in the field, Tropeano had to either
bat in the eighth inning or come out of the game. He not
only lined a leadoff single up the middle, but also came
around on a pair of walks and a Michael Faulkner
(Arkansas St.) single to help his own cause.
Cotuit took a 9-6
lead into the bottom of the ninth inning with Tropeano
still dealing. Aaron Westlake (Vanderbilt) walked and
Mark Ginther (Oklahoma St.) singled to bring up... Ricky
Oropesa.
Maybe 100 fans
stuck around to see it, but it still happened. Oropesa
drilled Tropeano's fastball and the dense trees behind
the left field fence were the only things that could
stop it.
The Kettleers had
played 18 innings and were willing to play on, but a
single, a sac-bunt, and a walk reloaded the bases with
two outs. Cotuit manager Mike Roberts came out to take
the ball from Tropeano, who was already to the first
base line to intercept the coach. Tropeano tossed his
glove into the dugout, dejected.
With a force at
every base Roberts gave the Anglers a new look to adjust
to, submariner Michael Frongello (Davidson).
He hit Beau Amaral
(UCLA).
You've just got
to do your best and sometimes it's not enough,
Yastrzemski said.
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