daily fog: same old story

It gets a little old talking about Cotuit's offense.

But you kind of have to.

The Kettleers beat Y-D 10-3 last night to improve to 7-2, the best mark in the league. It was the fourth time this season that the Kettleers have hit double digits in runs. The rest of the league, combined, has done it twice.

Last night, it was another balanced attack as seven players in the lineup had hits. Kevin Patterson (Auburn) went 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the way. Jeff Kobernus (Cal) had three RBI and Robbie Shields (Florida Southern) scored three runs.

That's a typical night for the Kettleers, and it's why they're having so much success. Everybody in that lineup is hitting. I don't know if Cotuit, inherently, is the best hitting team on the Cape. But that's pretty much irrelevant. Every team in the league is essentially an all-star team. All of them have the potential to hit. Whichever one does it becomes the best hitting team in the league, whether they have the best collection of talent or not. Though, to hit like this, Cotuit clearly has some talent.

Now, I don't want to make any crazy comparisons here, but this warrants mentioning. Last year's Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, a benchmark for offensive juggernauts, also went 7-2 in their first nine games. But . . . they only hit double digits once. Just saying.

Elsewhere

• As I mentioned last night, Cotuit starter Nick Hernandez (Tennessee) had to leave the game when he got hit with a line drive. No updates on that yet.
  

• Also in the Y-D-Cotuit game, Y-D's Nick Liles (Western Carolina) had two more hits to raise his average to .462, still tops in the league.
  

• We finally had a complete game last night. Well, kind of. Brewster's Rob Gilliam (UNC Greensboro) went six innings in a game that was called after six due to rain. So it counts as a complete game. And Gilliam pitched well, allowing only one run in the 4-1 victory. Brewster got all of its runs in the top of the sixth inning. Jim Klocke (SE Missouri) and David DiNatale (Miami) combined to drive in three runs in the big sixth.
  

• DiNitale is a late addition to the Brewster roster. He played eight games on the Cape last year and hit .087. This was his first game for the Whitecaps, and he certainly is off to a better start.

• Harwich got the first big boost from a late arrival, as Tommy Medica (Santa Clara), in his second game since leaving Team USA, hit a walkoff RBI single to give the Mariners a 6-5 win over Wareham. Sean Black (Seton Hall) earned the win in relief with 5.1 dominant innings. He allowed no runs on one hit and struck out three. Now at 6-3, Harwich still has the best record in the East.
  

• Chatham got its offense going last night in a 7-4 victory over Bourne, a win that moves the A's to within a game of .500. Corey Olson (UC Irvine) made his second start and was a home run away from the cycle. Grant Green (USC) also chipped in with a 3-for-4 day. He's now hitting .419. Chatham's bullpen did the rest last night, as Matt Zoltak (Clemson), Kevin Couture (USC) and Brad Boxberger (USC) combined to allow just one run in six innings.
  

• Once again, Orleans didn't have a lot of offense. But the pitching staff kept that from being a problem. Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount), Matt Thomson (San Diego) and Kyle Kamppi (Georgia Southern) combined on a five-hit shutout as the Cardinals beat Falmouth 2-0.
  

What to Watch For Tonight

• Hyannis' Andrew Carraway (Virginia), probably the top pitcher in the league so far, will take the hill tonight for his third start as the Mets visit Orleans.
  

• A real good pitching matchup in Brewster as Buddy Bauman (Missouri State), one of the Whitecaps' top starters, goes against Harwich's Matt Zielinski (Richmond). Bauman has a 1.69 ERA, while Zielinski didn't allow an earned run in his only start. This is also a match-up of the top two teams in the East.