With Hyannis really struggling this season, there were bound to be some playoff tickets punched early in the West Division, and Cotuit was the first to do it. The Kettleers rolled over Hyannis 15-5, improving to 17-13-3 and securing a bid with 11 games still remaining in the regular season.
Hyannis actually took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and held it until the third, but it was all Cotuit from there. The Kettleers knocked 12 hits, including three home runs, to pull away.
Nick Gonzales (New Mexico State) hit his seventh home run, part of a 2-for-5, three RBI night. He just hasn’t slowed down. He had an 0-for-5 July 9 and is on a six-game hitting streak – with three home runs – since then. He’s the league MVP favorite in my book.
Gonzales has some company, with Cotuit continuing to lead the league in home runs. Parker Chavers (Coastal Carolina) hit his fifth on this night and drove in three. Joey Loperfido (Duke) also went deep and drove in three. Oraj Anu (Wallace CC) added two hits and two RBI. Jackson Wolf (West Virginia) struck out five in four innings. Richard Brereton (Emery) earned the win in relief.
Cotuit has taken over first place in the West. The Kettleers are also 5-0 against Hyannis this summer.
Falmouth 5, Wareham 2; Falmouth 6, Wareham 4
There were also some interesting happenings just below Cotuit in the West standings last night. Falmouth swept a doubleheader from Wareham – who’s been hovering near the top of the standings all summer – and moved into a second-place tie with the Gatemen. Three pitchers quieted the Gatemen bats in game one. Carmen Mlodzinski (South Carolina) struck out four and allowed just an unearned run in five innings. Aidan Maldonado (Illinois) and Sean Mullen (UCLA) finished it off. Zach DeLoach (Texas A&M) and Trei Cruz (Rice) homered. In game two, Falmouth rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead before Wareham tied the game in its last at-bat on an RBI single by Benjamin Sems (Kansas). But Baron Radcliff (Georgia Tech) played hero in the eighth – the first extra inning since it was a doubleheader – smashing a two-run homer for the lead. Austin Langworthy (Florida) worked the home half of the eighth for the save. Falmouth has won four in a row.
Orleans 8, Bourne 3
Orleans built an early lead and didn’t allow a run until the eighth en route to a win over Bourne. Jake Eder (Vanderbilt) was dominant over five scoreless innings, striking out six and surrendering two hits. Zach Britton (Louisville), Trevin Esquerra (Loyola Marymount) and Rob Emery (San Francisco) homered for the Firebirds, and Max Troiani (Bentley) had three hits.
Harwich 9, Y-D 4
Harwich used a five-run seventh inning to break open a close game en route to its third straight win. Dylan Neuse (Texas Tech), who had been scuffling since a late arrival from Omaha, hit two home runs in a 3-for-4, 5 RBI night. Chris Galland (Boston College) delivered his second consecutive three-hit night and added an RBI. Nick Stewart (James Madison) earned the win in relief and Connor Sechler (Missouri State) finished it off. For Y-D, Austin Wells (Arizona) hit his seventh home run and Whatt Young (Pepperdine) had three hits. Young is back atop the batting average leaderboard at .371.
Brewster 9, Chatham 1
Brewster rode strong pitching and a 10-hit attack to a win over first-place Chatham. Tyler Follis (Louisiana Tech) allowed one run in 5.2 innings and Sean Fisher (Maryland) tossed scoreless ball over the final 3.1 innings. Gage Workman (Arizona State) went 4-for-5 with three RBI and T.J. Collett (Kentucky) had two hits and three RBI.
What to Watch
Cotuit will try to finish off a season series sweep of Hyannis as it hosts the Harbor Hawks at Lowell Park.