Bourne Explodes in Game One

When Cotuit grabbed its finals berth by scoring 18 runs against the best team in the league, you had to think the Kettleers would have some momentum for the championship.

But momentum doesn't always mean much in playoff baseball.

And even if it did Tuesday night, the Bourne Braves had plenty of it, too.

Bourne gave Cotuit a taste of its own medicine, winning game one of the championship series 15-5 for its eighth consecutive victory. The Braves won five in a row to end the regular season then swept their first-round series.

Last night, they took advantage of a depleted Cotuit pitching staff. The Kettleers didn't have the most stable rotation during the season -- only two players started every game they appeared in, and 14 different players made starts. With some early departures further clouding things and with the Kettleers playing two more playoff games than Bourne, there wasn't much left.

Cotuit turned to Andres Caceres (Connors State), whose six appearances didn't include a start. Bourne didn't let Caceres feel at home, sending 13 men to the plate in the first inning and putting up seven runs. Kyle Roller and Pierre LePage each had two-run singles to power the early surge.

It was more of the same in the second inning, as Stefen Romero led off with a double. The Braves went on to score six more runs, with Roller driving in two more.

Starting pitcher Alex Wimmers took the lead and ran with it, allowing one run and striking out nine in four innings of work. Cotuit put a rally together after Wimmers left the game, but fog started wreaking havoc. The game was called in the sixth.

I doubt the fog put too much of a damper on the good feelings in the Bourne dugout. They're rolling, and if they can stretch their win streak to nine in today's game two, they'll capture the franchise's first-ever Cape League championship.