story by Steve McCarthy
August 9, 2010COTUIT - In the sixth inning of
Monday's Cape Cod Baseball League Western Division Final
opening game, the Cotuit Kettleers had to be getting a
little antsy.
All three of their
hits off Wareham starting pitcher Jack Armstrong
(Vanderbilt) came in a two-run third inning and the
Gatemen had just tied it at 2-2 in the fifth.
A two-run double
down the left field line by Zach Cone (Georgia) sparked
a four-run, five-hit rally over the next two innings as
the Kettleers drew first blood at home in the
best-of-three series with a 6-2 win.
The series will
shift across the canal to Wareham's Spillane Field on
Tuesday at 7 p.m. Game three, if necessary, will be back
at Lowell Park on Wednesday.
“I feel like the
first game is always the big one,” Cone said of the
short series playoff format.
The Kettleers
remain unbeaten in the playoffs after both teams swept
the quarterfinal round. Jordan Leyland (UC-Irvine) had
his third straight multiple hit game out of the leadoff
spot and scored twice while driving in a run. Deven
Marrero (Arizona St.) and Joey Hainsfurther (Baylor) had
two hits each and Hainsfurther drove in a pair of runs
on a double in the seventh inning.
Three Cotuit runs
were scored by leadoff hitters of innings.
“We had trouble
with that before playoffs started, not getting enough
people on,” Cone said.
The sixth inning
spoiled an otherwise quality start for losing pitcher
Armstrong. He allowed four runs, three earned, on five
hits and struck out four over six innings.
Hainsfurther's two-run double came off Andrew McKirahan
(Texas).
“We capitalized
on the mistakes today,” Leyland said.
Cotuit reliever
Matt Andriese (UC-Riverside) got into a load of trouble
in the sixth inning after spelling starter Nick Tropeano
(Stony Brook), but managed to escape unscathed. The
Gatemen had the bases loaded with one out when Adam
McClain (Memphis) hit a sharp liner to Cotuit right
fielder Chad Wright (Kentucky), who fired to first to
double-up Derek Dennis (Michigan).
“That was
probably the game-changer for them right there,”
Leyland said. “It could have been a different ballgame
from there on.”
Andriese ended up
with the win with his single inning of work. A.J. Achter
(Michigan St.) came on for the next two and a third and
Ryan Duke (Oklahoma) closed it out with a game-ending
strikeout.
Tropeano was
responsible for both Wareham runs. He struck out five
and walked two in the no-decision. It was the fifth time
Tropeano started against Wareham this summer.
Wareham's John
Andreoli (UConn) was driven in with the game's first run
after a leadoff triple in the third inning. Cotuit
shifted the momentum in the home half of the inning with
RBI singles by Leyland and Marrero. Wareham's Zach
Wilson (Arizona St.) came through with a two-out RBI
double in the fifth to tie it at 2-2.
Wilson and Max
Muncy (Baylor) each had two hits to lead the Gatemen.
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