Cotuit beat Falmouth on Sunday, completing an impressive showing in the season series with its top competition for a playoff berth.
The Kettleers went 4-1 against the Commodores, including two huge wins this weekend. The teams entered the back-to-back stretch in a tie for the second playoff spot in the West. Now Cotuit has a leg up with just three games remaining in the regular season.
Cotuit’s first two wins over Falmouth were both by one run. Then the Commodores won the next one. But the last two have dovetailed with Cotuit’s offensive breakout. The Kettleers now lead the Cape League in team batting average and have totaled double-digit runs in four of their last five games. On Saturday, they beat Falmouth 16-6 before a 12-9 win on Sunday.
The Kettleers powered up the offense with three home runs. Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) hit his fifth, Jace Grady (Dallas Baptist) hit his fourth and Matthew Suggs (UNC Wilmington) blasted his first homer of the summer. Ryan Ritter (Kentucky), Noah Bridges (UNC Wilmington), and Brett Roberts (Florida State) drove in two runs each.
Falmouth did some damage of its own and made things interesting in the ninth with three runs. Joseph Gieg (Boston College) stopped the bleeding for the Kettleers.
Michael Curialle (UCLA) homered for Falmouth, while Anthony Hall (Oregon) and Kris Armstrong (Florida) head totaled three hits.
Cotuit has won five in a row overall and sits at 17-16-1, controlling its own destiny on the chase for the playoff spot. Falmouth, at 14-17-2, would need some help from the Kettleers to sneak in.
Harwich 11, Brewster 7
The playoff field in the East is set after Harwich got its first vicory of the season over Brewster to clinch a spot. Those two teams will meet in the East Division finals. Zack Prajzner (Notre Dame) led the 11-hit attack with four knocks, to go with three runs scored and an RBI. Matt McDermott (Coastal Carolina) had two hits and two RBI. Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) and Dylan Phillips (Kansas State) drove in two runs each. Eric Reyzelman (LSU) struck out seven and allowed two runs in five innings for the win. Brewster got home runs from Chris Lanzilli (Wake Forest), Cooper Weiss (Coastal Carolina) and Trey Faltine (Texas). Harwich is 19-11-4 and Brewster is 21-10-3. The division title and home field for the playoffs is still up for grabs between these two.
Chatham 3, Orleans 2
Two Orleans pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts, but Chatham scored on the long ball and got good pitching of its own in a 3-2 win. Nolan McLean (Oklahoma State) staked Chatham to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first inning. Dominic Tamez (Alabama) hit a two-run shot in the fifth. That proved to be enough for Cy Nielson (BYU) and Bryce Osmond (Oklahoma State). Nielson allowed one run in five innings. Osmond fanned six in four innings, allowing just an unearned run. For Orleans, Orion Kerkering (South Florida) struck out nine in five innings. Jake Saum (UCLA) gave up only one hit and also struck out nine. The win clinched the season series for Chatham against its rival.
Y-D 9, Hyannis 2
It’s going to be too late for a playoff push, but Y-D has won three in a row, as a 13-hit attack and solid pitching got the Red Sox past Hyannis. Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) has been fantastic since returning from Team USA, and he went 2-for-5 to put his average at .421. Zach Lew (Cal State Fullerton) added two hits and two RBI. Kody Huff (Stanford), Chase Luttrell (Long Beach State) and Danniel Rivera (Southern New Hampshire) also had two hits. Patrick Gallagher (UConn) got the win with six strong innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. Owen Stevenson (San Francisco) pitched shutout baseball the rest of the way for a three-inning save. Luke Mann (Missouri) hit his fifth home run for Hyannis.
Wareham 10, Bourne 3
A nine-run fifth inning helped Wareham snap a four-game slide with a victory over Bourne. Tommy Troy (Stanford) had a double and a two-run homer in the big inning, finishing 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI. Jim Jarvis (Alabama) added four hits and two RBI. Jack Brannigan (Notre Dame) had two hits and two RBI. Cole Kirschsieper (Illinois) pitched four shutout innings for the Gatemen. Jack Noble (Long Beach State) got the win in relief. Bourne got a home run from Max Anderson (Nebraska).
WHAT TO WATCH
Wareham’s Adam Mazur (South Dakota State) will try to secure the Cape League ERA title as he gets the ball against Falmouth. He enters with a 0.38 ERA.
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