Daily Fog: The Wildcard

In a league where parity continues to reign, it becomes difficult to get an accurate picture of what a given team can do.

The Cotuit Kettleers make it more difficult than most.

Maybe we should have known right away. The Kettleers started their season with a loss, a win and a tie in their first three games. Since then, they've had stretches where they've been anything but streaky -- in one 13-game string, they went 6-6-1. At other times, they've been as streaky as could be -- they lost six in a row at one point before winning six out of seven.

And now, in the same week where they lost a 13-1 game, they've won their other four, including two straight against their chief rivals in the West race. With last night's 6-2 win over Bourne, the Kettleers moved into first place with 43 points, one point ahead of Bourne and Wareham.

The win over Bourne came on the heels of Friday's 8-2 win over Wareham, and it followed a similar script. After Seth Blair's seven-inning complete game, Justin Grimm (Georgia) tossed a gem Saturday against the Braves. He allowed just one earned run in 7.1 innings and picked up the win.

If any one player exemplifies Cotuit's season, it's Grimm. At times, he's been lights out; other times, he has struggled mightily. Last night was one of the good ones. Grimm scattered six hits, struck out 10 and didn't walk anybody.

To stick with the exemplifying, Daniel Tillman (Florida Southern), who relieved Grimm last night, perhaps represents all the good Cotuit is capable of. He struck out all five batters he faced in his 1.2 perfect innings. Tillman still hasn't allowed a run this year.

Grimm and Tillman were backed by a 14-hit attack. It only produced six runs, but that was enough. Cotuit did all its damage against Seth Maness (East Carolina), who narrowly missed a perfect game his last time out. He struck out nine on this night, but amazingly, also allowed 12 hits. Zach Cone (Georgia) and Cody Stanley (UNC Wilmington) each drove in two, while Kevin Patterson (Auburn) and Rico Noel (Coastal Carolina) had three hits apiece. Noel stole two bases.

All in all, an impressive night for the Kettleers. In the end, it may just be another blip -- you never know with this team and Cotuit has played two more games than Bourne -- but it could also be a sign of something big. Whatever words you use to describe Cotuit, one of them should probably be "dangerous."

Elsewhere

Chatham may have given away much of its cushion with that losing streak, but when it counts, they've been able to keep Brewster at arm's length. The Anglers beat the Whitecaps 3-0 last night, their second win over Brewster in four days. This one gives them a four-point cushion over the Whitecaps. Coming into the game, I would have given the edge to Brewster, who had Kyle Blair (San Diego) on the mound. Blair minimized the damage that seven walks could have caused, but Chatham scored three runs on a triple by Whit Merrifield (South Carolina) that apparently got lost in the lights. An ensuing error allowed Merrifield to score, and that one play stood as the difference. Patrick Johnson (North Carolina) tossed a gem for the Anglers, striking out seven and allowing three hits in six shutout innings. Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt) allowed just one hit in two innings and Russell Brewer (Vanderbilt) worked around some trouble for a scoreless ninth and his ninth save.

Wareham finally had some doubleheader trouble. The Gatemen had been undefeated in doubleheader games but last night, they tied Orleans 2-2 in game one and lost the second game 6-5. In game one, neither team scored after the second inning, with Cole Green (Texas) and Matt Packer (Virginia) each turning in strong starts. In the second game, Orleans scored two in the top of the seventh to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead. Jeremy Gould (Duke) knocked in both runs with a double, and Brett Weibley (Kent State) kept the Gatemen off the board in the bottom of the seventh. With the win and tie, and Y-D's loss, Orleans moved to within three games of the Red Sox for first place in the East.

That Y-D loss came at the hands of Hyannis, who broke out of a two-run hole on the strength of a Ryan Cuneo (Delaware) grand slam in the seventh inning. Cuneo's blast was his fifth of the year, and he again has grabbed the league lead in RBI. His home run made a winner out of Tyler Wilson (Virginia), who allowed four runs in eight innings. Chris Haney (Dallas Baptist) got the save.

Harwich beat Falmouth 4-2 in game one of a doubleheader and the teams finished the second game in a 2-2 tie. Matthew Price (Virginia Tech) picked up the win and Les Williams (Northeastern) got the save with two strong innings of relief. Levi Michael (North Carolina), Stuart Tapley (Florida State) and Anthony Sosnoskie (Virginia Tech) knocked in one run each. In game two, Harwich got a run in its last at-bat to tie the game. An RBI single by Jeff Vigurs (Bryant) brought home the tying run and sent the game to extras. Rob Gariano (Fairfield) pitched three scoreless innings of relief for Harwich to keep the score where it was. The victory and the tie give Harwich one more point that Falmouth as both teams try to stay alive in the playoff race. For Falmouth, Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State) went 1-for-7 in the two games, dropping his average to .394.

What to Watch For Tonight

Cotuit will try for three in a row with a home game against Orleans. Chad Bell (Walters State) is scheduled to start for the Kettleers against Jimmy Reyes (Elon), who has been one of Orlean's most consistent starters.