By Dylan Wolter
June 29, 2015
Will Haynie hit a pair of homers. Photo by Joe Cavanaugh
COTUIT- The last time the Cotuit Kettleers, now 6-12, played the Y-D Red Sox, the Kettleers dropped both games of a double header. In a redemption game, the Kettleers poured on an offensive onslaught against their opponent, tallying eleven runs and winning by a score of 11-1. The damage mostly came from the long ball; Will Haynie (Alabama) hit a pair of homers while Gene Cone (South Carolina) launched his first of the season.
The Kettleers were, believe it or not, down 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth inning. Daniel Brown (Mississippi State) pitched well for Cotuit, keeping the Red Sox in check and not letting the game get out of hand. The Red Sox starter, Christian Morris (Indiana), was pitching very effectively until the sixth inning.
That’s when the Kettleers bats came alive. Kort Peterson (UCLA) started things off with a hard hit single to right field. Peterson attempted to steal on the very first pitch and although the Red Sox were prepared with a pitchout, the catcher threw a ball that that was mishandled by the shortstop and ended up in centerfield. With Peterson now on third, a streaking Jack Klein (Stanford) lifted a sac fly to right field, tying the game at 1-1.
Cotuit wasn’t even close to satisfied, going on a rally that would load the bases with two outs. In stepped Will Haynie, but before he could provide any damage, Morris threw a wild pitch that scored Brenden Berry (Cal St Northridge) who pumped his fist in excitement. The score was now 2-1 when Will Haynie teed off a breaking ball that carried over the left field fence. It was a no doubter that landed deep into the trees; Haynie just watched it soar, jogging freely around the bases.
Manager Mike Roberts and Haynie have been in the cage together all week in an attempt to get Haynie more comfortable at the plate. Roberts gave Haynie advice that may have just propelled his home run swing. “Before I went out there, coach told me to change a little something and I was kind of frustrated with it,” claimed an honest Haynie, “he told me to put my back knee on the ground. I did what he told me to do and it worked.”
With the score now 5-1, Matt Millburn (Wofford), refused to let Y-D back in the game. He pitched the rest of the game, giving up only two hits and striking out six. The ninth inning came around and the Kettleers looked to add some insurance to their lead. After another hit for Brenden Berry, Gene Cone launched a blast to dead right field. The ball clearly had the distance but fans eagerly waited to see if it would land fair or foul. It would fly just inside the right field pole for a two run homerun, making the score 7-1.
Cone who ended up pinch hitting in the sixth inning collected two hits in his two at bats but it was his home run that caused the most damage. “He came in at the end of the at-bat with a fastball middle in. I was able to beat the ball to the spot and get barrel on it,” remarked a gleeful Cone.
The Kettleers were still not finished and either was Will Haynie. Following a walk to Michael Paez (Coastal Carolina), Will Haynie stroked an 0-2 high fastball that tracked the left fielder all the way back to the wall. The ball sailed just over the fence for Haynie’s second home run of the game (fourth of the year) and his fifth RBI. The bench nearly jumped out of the dugout in excitement for their catcher’s incredible performance. Coach Robert’s, however, was ecstatic for his entire club, mentioning, “The guys have worked hard on their swings and today we finally saw some results. I’m extremely pleased for them and pleased for our fans; we gave them something to cheer about.”
The Kettleers added two more runs to the score, Cole Fabio (Bryant) lacing an RBI double to left center and Jack Klein (Stanford) with an RBI single. The final score was 11-1 and Cotuit puts together its second consecutive win. The Kettleers look to continue their solid play against the Wareham Gateman (9-9) in Wareham on Wednesday night at 7:00.