live blog: cotuit vs. hyannis

11:10 – I’m listening online and the first pitch was just thrown. Seth Blair is on the mound for Cotuit. Good guy to have out there in a game as important as this. He’s 3-1 with a 1.79 ERA.

11:12 – So just to be clear: Cotuit clinches a playoff spot if they win this game. It is not so cut-and-dry for Hyannis.

11:15 – Blair just got out of a jam in the top of the first. Marcus Jones had a double for the Mets. After Blair got Ben Paulsen, the Kettleers made a wise decision to intentionally walk Chris Dominguez. Curt Casali lined out for the last out of the inning.

11:22 – Will Weidig is on the mound for Hyannis. The sophomore from Brown has been solid out of the bullpen with a 3.48 ERA. This is only his second start. One troubling stat: he’s struck out 25 and walked 20.

11:23 – Weidig allowed a hit to Michael Gilmartin but nothing else. Scoreless after one.

11:35 – First and third again with two outs for Hyannis, with leadoff man Trent Ashcraft at the plate.

11:36 – Another line out to Brett Jackson for the final out of the inning. Through one and a half, still scoreless.

11:42 – Quick inning for Weidig, who is off to a really strong start in this one. After two, no score.

11:46 – It sounds like Blair is laboring a little bit. He’s thrown a fair amount of pitches and he just walked Ben Paulsen.

11:47 – Big strikeout for Blair. After a long at-bat, he caught Chris Dominguez looking.

11:49 – One pitch, and Blair is out of the inning. Still no score.

11:50 – Here’s something to consider as these two starting pitchers continue to put up zeroes. Weidig has been a reliever most of the summer, so he may not be able to go that deep into the game. Meanwhile, Blair leads the league in complete games.

11:53 – Cotuit’s Kevin Patterson leads off the third with a double. I believe that’s the third double we’ve had in this game. Nobody’s been able to take advantage, though.

11:56 – Weidig gets a strikeout for the first out of the inning. Back to Brett Jackson and the top of the order.

11:58 – Jackson flies out. Two outs, Patterson still on second.

12:00 – We have some offense. A ground ball from Michael Gilmartin gets through the right side. Patterson beats the throw home for the 1-0 lead.

12:02 – Weidig gets his second strikeout of the inning to end it, but the damage is done. Cotuit 1, Hyannis 0 through three.

12:06 – Blair has gotten out of some jams so far, but he’ll have to do it again here in the fourth. Back-to-back singles by the Mets have runners on first and third with one out.

12:09 – Well that’ll do it. Blair gets Matt Nuzzo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. That’s the third time this game that Cotuit has gotten out of a first-and-third jam. Blair hasn’t been lights out by any means today, but he’s getting it done when it counts, and he’s got four shutout innings in the books.

12:16 – Weidig strikes out Jason Kipnis, his sixth of the day. That’s six out of 10 outs. He’s giving the Mets exactly what they needed, but they’re going to have to score for him.

12:19 – A perfect frame for Weidig. Still 1-0 with four innings complete.

12:24 – Blair got two quick outs, went 3-0 on Ben Paulsen, but then induced a grounder to end the inning. Best frame of the day for Blair.

12:29 – Jeff Kobernus hits a double to start the fifth. Another scoring chance for Cotuit.

12:33 – RBI single by Robert Stock makes it 2-0. Has anybody else noticed how Stock has been way under the radar this summer? He was such a big story last year because he had skipped his senior year of high school to enroll at USC. Then he was an all-star on the Cape despite being the youngest player in the league. He was not an all-star this year but he’s actually had a real solid season, with a .269 average. He’s delivering at the right time too.

12:36 – Weidig in a little more trouble after a walk to Brett Jackson. Two on, only one out for Michael Gilmartin, who knocked in the game’s first run.

12:39 – Wow. Double steal, and apparently Stock was dead meat at third. But he was called safe. Second and third, one out.

12:41 – Weidig gets a big out as Gilmartin flies out to left, not deep enough to score Stock from third. If Weidig can get out of this jam, a 2-0 deficit is still manageable.

12:44 – After falling behind 3-0, Weidig gets Joey Lewis to ground out and end the inning. Even though they now trial by two, the Mets have to feel pretty good about getting out of that jam. We’ll see if they can build on it. After five, 2-0 Cotuit.

12:47 – So far so good for Hyannis. Dominguez takes the first pitch he sees down the left-field line for a double.

12:51 – Blair gets one out, but then hits Ryan Eden. Two on, one out. The Mets have stranded a lot of runners in this game . . . and they may do it again. Dale Cornstubble swings at the first pitch and pops out. Two down.

12:54 – Blair gets Casey Frawley looking for the final out. That’s eight runners left on base for the Mets.

1:02 – Cotuit goes down in order. We’re through six with Cotuit up 2-0.

1:03 – The Mets have 9-1-2 coming up this inning. If they can get a few on base for the middle of the order, this may be their best remaining chance.

1:05 – Matt Nuzzo leads off with a single, but Blair strikes out Trent Ashcraft for the first out. Marcus Jones at the plate, with Paulsen and Dominguez waiting behind him.

1:09 – Danger time for Cotuit. Two outs, but Blair just walked Paulsen to put two on for Chris Dominguez, the league’s home run leader. He had a double last time.

1:10 – Wild pitch moves the runners up, so first base is open. Cotuit will put Dominguez on. It’ll be up to Curt Casali, the Hyannid DH.

1:13 – Blair falls behind 3-1, but Casali hits a ground ball to shortstop and Michael Gilmartin gets the out at second. Cotuit out of another jam. That’s 11 runners left on base for Hyannis. We’re heading to the bottom of the seventh, still 2-0 Cotuit.

1:15 – Will Harvil relieves Will Weidig on the mound. Weidig pitched well for the Mets, but right now, he’s in line to the hard-luck loser.

1:22 – Cotuit looking for some insurance as Robert Stock gets a two-out hit. A wild pitch allows Stock to move into scoring position with Brett Jackson at the plate.

1:23 – Jackson draws a walk, so now two on with two outs. The Kettleers have taken advantage when they’ve had guys on base. We’ll see if they can do it again.

1:25 – Michael Gilmartin knocks in Stock with a base hit. He gets cut down at second trying to stretch it to a double but the Kettleers get an all-important insurance run. Heading to the eighth, it’s 3-0.

1:27 – Daniel Wolford is on for the Kettleers, after Blair went seven shutout innings. Wolford is apparently better known as “The Wolf.”

1:29 – The Wolf works the quickest inning of the day, getting two of three outs via the strikeout. To the bottom of the eighth we go.

1:35 – Kettleers go 1-2-3 so we’ll go to the top of the ninth with Cotuit up 3-0. Three outs away from a playoff berth.

1:36 – The Wolf is still on the mound. It’s 9-1-2 for the Mets, the same part of the order that came up in the seventh and loaded the bases.

1:37 – Quick strikeout for the Wolf. One down.

1:40 – After a long at-bat, Trent Ashcraft works a walk. That means the middle of the order might get a chance, as long as Marcus Jones doesn’t ground into a double play.

1:41 – Ashcraft moves to second on a passed ball. A 1-2 count on Jones.

1:42 – Base hit by Jones. We’ve got first and third one out, with Ben Paulsen coming up. The Kettleers have a cushion, but the Mets now have a chance with their best hitters stepping to the plate.

1:43 – That does it for Wolford. Closer Drew Storen will come on. He has four saves this season

1:47 – Storen falls behind 2-0 but gets Paulsen to hit a ground ball to third. Cotuit concedes the run as Kevin Patterson gets the out at third. That’s two outs, but Chris Dominguez is coming up as the tying run.

1:48 – Game over. Second baseman Dallas Poulk makes a nice play on a hard ground ball and gets the final out. The Kettleers are heading to the playoffs.

Alright, that’s it for now. I’ll check back in later in the afternoon to break down some of the scenarios for tonight. Right now, Cotuit is in. Hyannis not yet out. Should be an interesting evening.

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