story by Steve McCarthy
August 11, 2010YARMOUTH - Matt Andriese
got the redemption he was in search of.
The right-handed
starting pitcher from Cal-Riverside had been with the
Cotuit Kettleers since Day 1, but was pushed into a
relief role as late arrivals joined the team. He made
just six starts after logging a team-high 103 innings at
school this spring in 14 starts with four complete
games.
The Kettleers were
depleted of fresh arms and without a closer as they
began the best-of-three Cape Cod Baseball League
Championship Series against a Yarmouth-Dennis club which
had scored 36 runs over the previous two days. Though
having appeared for an inning in relief two days prior,
Andriese wanted the ball.
The texting between
him and field manager Mike Roberts went back and forth
Tuesday night and when the team arrived at Red Wilson
Field Wednesday for the 3 p.m. game, the decision to
start Andriese was confirmed.
The Red Sox team
which had pounded out 62 hits in four playoff games
managed just three off Andriese, and the RBI machine was
“Out of Order”. Andriese's complete game shutout set
the stage for Cotuit's 3-0 win in taking the series
advantage back home to Lowell Park, where they will have
a chance to hoist the Arnold Mycock trophy following a
pair of runner-up finishes.
Andriese had a
no-hitter going until Ben McMahan (Florida) lined a
single into right-center field with two outs in the
fifth inning. Andriese allowed one baserunner past
first, when in the eighth inning he hit Caleb Ramsey
(Houston) and issued his only walk of the afternoon. He
had the option of calling it a day at that point.
“I wanted to
finish it,” Andriese said.
Out of the dugout
he strode for the ninth inning and didn't allow for much
drama. After a leadoff single, two more of his 12 total
ground balls came, one good for a double play and the
other for the final out.
“It just kind of
proved to the coaching staff that I earned the start
today,” Andriese said.
Andriese threw 120
pitches, 85 for strikes, and Y-D shortstop Joe Panik
(St. Johns) was the only other batter with an answer for
his ground ball inducing repertoire.
“I just stayed in
rhythm, threw a lot of strikes,” Andriese said.
“It's exciting to beat a good team like that.”
The Kettleers gave
Andriese a two run cushion before he climbed the mound
for the first time. Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine) and Chad
Wright (Kentucky) opened the game with back-to-back
singles and were rewarded on a bunt by Deven Marrero
(Arizona St.) and a two-out fielder's choice by Brooks
Pinckard (Baylor).
Marrero singled
down the left field line in the third inning to drive in
Wright again.
“You've got to
get runs whenever you can,” Marrero said. “A lot of
playoff games are very low scoring.”
Kettleers batters
got eight hits off Y-D starter Randy Fontanez (South
Florida), with two each from Marrero, Leyland, and
Michael Yastrzemski (Vanderbilt). Fontanez went eight
innings and was responsible for two of the runs.
Game 2 is scheduled
for Thursday at 3 p.m., when the supposed underdogs will
attempt to close out the summer in an even 50 games.
“It's fun being
the underdog because no one expects it,” Marrero said.
“We've just been playing really hard lately and
hopefully it pays out at our home field.”
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