I’ll be honest: the Cotuit Kettleers confuse me. They’ve had 41 players suit up this summer and their lineup seems like it’s different everyday. Nobody’s hitting that well. Nobody’s been lights-out on the mound. I look at a Cotuit box score and I can’t draw any conclusions.
But it’s time to draw this conclusion: the Kettleers might be pretty good.
Cotuit beat Bourne 2-1 last night to take over first place from the Braves. The Kettleers have won five games in a row and seven of their last 10.
Their last loss was to Bourne last Thursday, but they got the upper hand in the rematch. Cotuit’s Nick Tropeano (Stony Brook) and Bourne’s Austin Stadler (Wake Forest) were locked in a pitcher’s duel until the top of the seventh. Stadler had a no-hitter into the fifth. In the seventh, Bourne’s Daniel Bowman (Coastal Carolina) hit a lead-off solo home run. At that point, it was safe to assume that Bourne would try to lock things down with its talented bullpen. Recently-named all-stars R.J. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) and Tony Zych (Louisville) loomed.
But Cotuit was undeterred.
With Alvarez on in the bottom of the seventh, the Kettleers went to work. Jordan Leyland (UC Irvine) led off with a double. Levi Hyams (Georgia) knocked Leyland in with the tying run, and Deven Marrero (Arizona State) drove in the go-ahead run. They’re the first earned runs allowed by Alvarez all summer, and they made all the difference.
Tropeano got the win with 7.2 strong innings. All-star A.J. Achter (Michigan State) came on for the save.
Things won’t get any easier for the Kettleers in the coming days. Two of their next three games are against Y-D, the East’s second-place team. But the Kettleers are hot right now — the hottest team in the league. Confusing or not, they’re playing well.
Elsewhere
What to Watch
Some good pitchers are taking the hill tonight all over the place. In Hyannis, Cole Cook (Pepperdine) makes his second start against Bourne and Grayson Garvin (Vanderbilt). Cook was a fifth-round pick this year and struck out seven in his first start. Garvin has been dominant and was named to the All-Star team. In Chatham, All-Star Logan Verrett (Baylor) is scheduled to start.