By Zach Kaplan
Penn State University
July 26, 2018
Cory Wood (Coastal Carolina) rounds the bases after a solo home run against Bourne on Thursday.
COTUIT– What Cory Wood (Coastal Carolina) may not have in power, he certainly makes up for that in his ability to get on base for Cotuit (.397 on-base percentage).
With his parents in attendance on Thursday, Wood took the sixth pitch of his sixth inning into the trees in right field for his second home run of the season. He has now hit safely in his last four games and walked in each of his last five.
“He made a good pitch there,” said Wood. “I figured he’d try to go with the fastball inside again, and I just ripped one off the bat. I’m trying to work and get a bit more power in my bat.”
Burdick goes yard in back-to-back games; Bierman, Ellis w/ multi-hit games
Peyton Burdick’s (Wright State) ninth inning, two-run homer gave Cotuit the potential to rally in the ninth and tie the game as he cut Bourne’s lead to 7-5. With the home run, Burdick had his second consecutive game with a round tripper, his first two since Opening Day, where he dropped three home runs on Brewster.
Peyton Burdick (Wright State) has home runs in consecutive games for the Kettleers.
Burdick now has five home runs on the season, while batting .228 to go with 18 RBI’s.
Zach Biermann (Coastal Carolina) and Duke Ellis (Texas) each multi-hit games of their own last night for the Kets. Biermann went 3-for-5 with an RBI single that scored Burdick, and allowed him to get all the way to third on a Bourne error.
Ellis went 2-for-4 with a single in the fourth and sixth innings on Thursday.
Former Sox pitcher Denman throws out first pitch
Brian Denman is part of a unique club of former Kets who went on to play for the Boston Red Sox. He also threw out the first pitch on Thursday, making his first appearance at Lowell Park since he played for the Kettleers in 1977.
He attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted by the Red Sox in 1978. He was called up in August 1982 by the Sox, and made nine starts, including two complete games.
He mainly recalled that while the field looked fairly similar, the bleachers, concession stands and press box had changed dramatically (and thankfully).
Brian was part of a 1977 team that won the Cape League title, which was their fifth in six years. Under manager Jack McCarthy, Denman and the Kets went 27-13-1. They defeated Wareham in the semi-finals two games to none, and Y-D in the championship in five games.
Denman played in the MLB and minor leagues for nine seasons. Today, he resides with his family in the Buffalo area.
While Denman will enjoy some time with his family, the Kettleers will head back to Eldredge Park on Friday for the first time since June 16. Cotuit is 3-0 against the Firebirds this season, defeating Orleans 6-2 the last time they met in Orleans.