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July 12, 2021 8:53 pm | by GatemenNews
By Barrett Hodgson
The Cotuit Kettleers visited Spillane Field on Monday night, July 12th to take on the Wareham Gatemen. The two teams entered the night battling for the 2nd seed in the west division. Cotuit came out victorious and is now tied for 2nd in the west with Wareham.
The Kettleers struck first breaking the scoreless tie in the top of the 5th inning. The Cotuit shortstop Ryan Ritter (Kentucky) crushed a line drive home run into the left field bleachers. The homer gave the Kettleers a 1-0 lead and some serious momentum in what was a pitchers duel.
The starting pitching for both teams was exceptional between the division rivals. Spencer Miles (Missouri) started for the Gatemen and went five innings. He gave up one run on a solo shot and struck out an impressive nine batters. As for Cotuit, Jake Brooks (UCLA) also went five complete innings. Brooks gave up just two hits while striking out five Gatemen hitters in his start.
Cotuit tacked on three more runs in the 6th once the Gatemen starter Miles left the game. Leadoff batter Josiah Town (Dallas Baptist) reached on an error by Wareham’s 1st baseman. Andy Gariola (Old Dominion) drew a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Eric Brown (Coastal Carolina) stepped in and blasted a 3-run home run to left field to give the Kettleers a 4-0 lead.
The Kettleers offensive attack continued on Gatemen reliever Carter Rustad (San Diego). After subbing in as a defensive replacement at 1st base, Nathan Martorella (Cal Berkeley) led off the inning with a single to left. Rustad struck out two guys in a row before giving up his 2nd homer of the night. Town absolutely crushed a ball over the right center fence to give Cotuit a 6-0 lead.
The Cotuit bats combined for three homers but the main story of the night was the pitching. Brooks was dominant in his five innings but the relief pitching was arguably better. Harrison Cohen (George Washington) was dominant in his 12 out save. He entered the game in a one run game in the 6th and went the rest of the way, therefore getting the save. In his four innings he gave up just one base runner and struck out five.
The Gatemen will host the Kettleers on Wednesday night, July 14th and will look to get some revenge and regain sole possession of 2nd place.
