By Dylan Wolter
July 3, 2015
FALMOUTH – A day after Manager Mike Roberts voiced his dissatisfaction towards the Cotuit offense; the Kettleers scored eight runs against the Falmouth Commodores in their seventh win of the year. Cotuit is now tied with the Commodores for the final playoff spot in the western division, each with a record of 7-13. The bottom of the order, particularly Matt Albanese (Bryant) and Brody Weiss (Riverside JC), were crucial factors in the Kettleers rebound win.
Against Wareham on Wednesday, the Kettleers struggled in bringing home runs despite runners getting on base. Cotuit had little problem in supplying runs in Friday night’s game against Falmouth, however, getting support from the bottom third of the order.
The Kettleers took the lead in the second inning following a leadoff walk to Branden Berry (Cal St. Northridge). Berry would advance to third after a wild pitch and a sac fly. Brody Weiss would bring in Berry on a sharp single to right field for a 1-0 lead.
The Commodores would tie the score in the top of the fifth with an RBI single from Caleb Hamilton (Oregon State). That is all Falmouth would be able to muster against solid pitching from the Kettleers. Jonathan King (Georgia Tech) along with the bullpen, pitched very effectively for the Kettleers, rarely getting into trouble.
In the top of the sixth, the Kettleers exploded for five runs to take the lead 6-1. The inning started out with two brilliant bunt singles from Kort Peterson (UCLA) and Michael Paez (Coastal Carolina). A walk to Berry would load the bases and an infield chop from Tim Susnara (Oregon) scored the go ahead run, making the score 2-1. Classic Kettleers small ball was extremely prevalent in this sequence of the inning.
With men on second and third, Matt Albanese (Bryant) laced a two RBI double to the right center field wall, increasing the lead to 4-1. Albanese’s shot was dangerous off the bat, with a loud bang that echoed across the crowd. The Bryant outfielder would come in to score after another big hit from Brody Weiss as he roped a double down the left field line. Following another RBI hit, this one by Spencer Gaa (Bradley), the score was 6-1.
Weiss and Albanese, the seven and eight hitters in the lineup, each tallied two RBI’s. Manager Mike Roberts will take hits any way he can get them from an offense that has been sputtering lately, mentioning, “To see those two guys get those RBI’s and hit the baseball that way is very encouraging.”
The Kettleers would add two more runs in the top of the ninth inning with a two RBI double from Michael Paez that short hopped the wall in left center field. The final score would end 8-1 and the offensive outburst has to be taken as a very positive sign looking forward. Mike Roberts has been working hard with his hitters and the results were seen against Falmouth.
“We were able to turn some practice, that we did today, into the ball game which is always a good thing,” claimed a satisfied Roberts. “We worked on some offensive areas with every single one of our twelve offensive players. We saw more than one hitter had some balls come off the bat and that’s what we need.”
Brody Weiss had his best game of the season in front of his family who attended the game at Fuller Park. Weiss has struggled a little bit to start the season but is feeling a lot better at the plate and it showed in the 8-1 victory. He recorded two hits, two RBI’s, and a run scored in four at-bats.
“It was nice to finally get those,” remarked a relieved Weiss, “I feel comfortable at the plate these last couple of days and I was able to finally put some good contact on a couple of good pitches.”
The Kettleers look to continue their winning baseball and take a division lead over the Commodores at home, July 4th, 5:00.
You can find action photos of every Kettleers game HERE and photos of every player HERE.