by Zach Kaplan

Penn State University

July 14, 2018

WAREHAM– Coming off the tie on Thursday, it felt like Cotuit had momentum after salvaging a point against the top team in the West Division.

That momentum was quickly swatted away, as Wareham opened the floodgates, riding their early hitting to a 8-2 win on Friday night at Clem Spillane Field.

“We have a great group of guys, but we lack intensity as a group,” said Roberts after the game. “Unless we find that intensity, we’ll continue to go up and down…Lot of nice guys, but a lack of baseball intensity.”

Brady Smith (Florida) continued his hot streak at the plate with a first inning RBI double in Wareham.

Cotuit got out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Will Robertson (Creighton) reached safely on a stand-up double, then scored on an RBI double by Brady Smith (Florida) two batters later.

The Kettleers lead was vanquished just as quickly as it was acquired, as Wareham exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the inning. A leadoff walk for Isaac Collins (Creighton), followed by three consecutive hits for the Gatemen, enabled them to open up a 4-1 lead.

Two additional runs in the following frame continued to put the game out of reach. After Sahid Valenzuela (Cal State Fullerton) and Austin Shenton (FIU) got on base, Pavin Parks (Kent State) drove both players in with an RBI to make it 6-1 Wareham.

But Valenzuela was not done there, leading off the fourth inning with a solo home run over the fence in right field to make it 7-1. Pavin Parks would add another RBI double in the sixth for the Gatemen, making it 8-1.

Cotuit had their chances to rally in the middle innings of the game. With the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth inning, the Kettleers could not push a run across. In the seventh, Cotuit also loaded the bases and managed to get only a single run to score as Michael Toglia (UCLA) was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run to make it 8-2.

Mathieu Gauther (NC State) and Zane Collins (Wright State) came out of the bullpen in mop-up duty with solid outings of their own. Gauther went three innings, giving up a run on one hit with two strikeouts. Collins came on to pitch a scoreless eighth inning for Cotuit.

“I appreciate their effort, they did an excellent job,” said Roberts. “But you hate to bring people in when you’re down 6-1, 7-1 early in the game.”

Cotuit will travel to Hyannis tomorrow for a Patriots Cup matchup with the Harbor Hawks. First pitch from McKeon Park is set for 6:00 p.m.