Lowell Park seems part of the woods, especially if you walk in on the narrow path from East Lane. You weave through, stepping over hardened roots, hearing something in the distance, but not seeing it. Then, suddenly, the left field corner of a baseball field.
They have seen a lot, those woods. Quiet autumns and long winters and wet springs give way to sun-soaked summers with the team that wins more than any other.
On a postcard of an afternoon Friday, the woods were more than their usual backdrop. Fans filled the edges, a sign of how big the crowd was. Home runs flew into the trees. And cheers echoed.
A lot of cheers.
Cotuit claimed its record 17th Cape Cod Baseball League championship with a 10-3 victory over Harwich that clinched a sweep of the best-of-three title series.
The win capped a memorable ride for the Kettleers, the latest in a long line of teams that put it all together at the perfect time. A year ago, Wareham played great baseball in the playoffs, but had also been the best team in the league all summer. This Cotuit team went 20-20-4 in the regular season and was the No. 3 seed in the West Division. It lost its first game of the playoffs.
The Kettleers would not lose again.
After beating Wareham and sweeping Falmouth, Cotuit won the longest finals game in Cape League history Thursday, prevailing over Harwich in 15 innings.
Win a game like that and you’re going to have some momentum. Playing the role of next day’s starting pitching in the old baseball adage about momentum, Connor McCullogh (Kansas State) aimed to foil it for Harwich. Instead, Cotuit greeted him with two home runs. Matthew Mervis (Duke), the second batter McCullough faced, cranked one out to right field. It was the first hit allowed in the postseason by McCullough, who had pitched the front end of Harwich’s combined no-hitter in its playoff opener. One batter later, Casey Schmitt (San Diego State) went deep to left and the Kettleers had themselves a 2-0 lead.
Balls kept flying in the fourth, when Schmitt homered again. Donta Williams (Arizona) added an RBI single.
Starting pitcher Sean Sullivan (California) ran with the lead, tossing four scoreless innings. Harwich hit two home runs of its own in the fifth, but Sullivan escaped without further trouble, and soon had a sizeable cushion.
Cotuit exploded for six runs on six hits in the fifth inning. Five of the hits came consecutively as the Kettleers wore a parade route around the bases. After Schmitt scored on a passed ball, Adam Oviedo (Oral Roberts), Williams, Cody Pasic (Maine), Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) and Mervis delivered run-scoring hits.
The Kettleers were well on their way.
Harwich managed a run in the seventh, but nothing else. Sullivan ended up allowing three runs in 6.1 innings. Nick Jones (Georgia Southern), making only his fourth Cape League appearance after playing most of the summer in the West Coast League, struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.
That set up the final touch, and, fittingly, it was Schmitt who delivered it. A two-way player all summer, he had already pitched five scoreless innings in the playoffs. After walking the first batter he faced in the ninth, he got the first out on a strikeout. Max Marusak (Texas Tech) followed with a line drive to shortsop. Oviedo made a leaping catch then doubled the runner off second base.
Players are usually halfway over the dugout rail for the final out of a championship. This celebration felt more spontaneous. It was suddenly over. The Kettleers were suddenly champs.
Their final act was a shining example of the brand of baseball they played in the postseason. They did not commit an error, finishing the playoffs with just three in seven games. They blasted 14 hits and didn’t miss many opportunities. The pitching staff that was middle-of-the-road in the regular season ended up with a 2.84 ERA after another gem.
The clincher was also a showcase. Sullivan was terrific, continuing a roll that had seen him pitch 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Mervis went 4-for-5. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina), Coltyn Kessler (Kentucky) and Oviedo stayed hot. Of course, the league MVP Gonzales got in on the act with a hit and an RBI. Pasic lived out a dream as the hometown kid. And Schmitt earned Playoff MVP honors thanks to his homers and those last three outs.
The championship is Cotuit’s first since 2013. And its last two titles had both been clinched on the road. Getting this one at Lowell Park makes it extra special.
Cutting through the trees on the way out, noise from the postgame celebration echoed.
It had been a while since the woods heard cheers like that.