By Zach Kaplan
Penn State University
July 1, 2018
COTUIT– With each passing at-bat in extra innings, the Lowell Park crowd became more anxious, concerned that another winnable game for the Kettleers had gone awry.
But just one swing of the bat did a lot to allieviate those concerns, as Beau Brundage (Portland) led off the 11th inning by drilling a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right field to give Cotuit a dramatic walk-off home run on Sunday night.
Beau Brundage (Portland) was the hero on Sunday, with a walk-off home run to defeat Chatham 4-3 at Lowell Park.
“I was just looking to get on base if I could, saw a good pitch to hit and swung at it,” said Brundage following the walk-off. “Its a great feeling, hitting something like that and helping your team win the game.”
Chatham was able to tie the game in the 9th inning off a one-out double by Tristin English (Georgia Tech), who then advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to knot things up at three.
Joey Walsh (BC) was credited with the win for the Kettleers, who improved to 9-8 on the season, while Nick Scheidler (UCLA) got the loss for Chatham, who dropped to 8-7-2.
“When it comes to helping the team, that swing can do a lot of things,” said Roberts after the game. “Both teams played really well, and we’re thankful that we got the win today.”
The first four innings of the game were dominated by the starting pitchers. Anthony Veneziano (Coastal Carolina) allowed only one hit, while Alek Manoah (West Virginia) yielded only a single baserunner on a walk to Cotuit’s Ryan Reynolds (Texas).
“It felt really good out there. I knew if I competed in the strike zone, I gave my teammates a chance to win,” said Veneziano after the game. “I got ahead with first pitch strikes, I was able to throw my slider effectively today, and I just tried to get outs as quick as possible.”
Anthony Veneziano (Coastal Carolina) went 5 1/3 innings on Sunday, giving up three hits and one earned run as Cotuit defeated Chatham 4-3 in 11 innings.
Cotuit would break through in the fifth inning for three runs off of Chatham’s Spencer Van Scoyoc (Arizona State). Reynolds and Duke Ellis (Texas) hit singles to get aboard, and Zach Humphreys (TCU) walked to load the bases.
The ensuing at-bat, Will Robertson (Creighton) drove in the Texas tandem to give the Kettleers an early 2-0 lead. Zach Biermann (Coastal Carolina) hit an RBI single of his own in the ensuing at-bat, which scored Humphreys and extended the Cotuit lead to three.
Chatham was able to climb back into the game in the very next frame. Branden Fryman (Samford) led off the inning with a single and Greg Jones (UNC Wilmington) reached via fielder’s choice to put two runners aboard with one out. Fryman would score on a sacrifice fly from Colin Simpson (Oklahoma State), and Jones would score thanks to a subsequent throwing error, cutting the Cotuit lead to 3-2.
Cotuit will travel back to Guv Fuller Field in Falmouth on Monday to take on the Commodores. These two played just this past Friday, with the Commodores pulling off a walk-off job of their own, defeating Cotuit 7-6. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.