On June 19, Cotuit beat Brewster 10-9. Amazingly, that was the only time all summer that the Kettleers reached double digits in runs.
The second time sure was worth the wait.
Playing in a decisive game three on Monday at Y-D, the Kettleers blasted the Red Sox 18-4 to win the series and grab themselves a spot in the Cape League championship. They'll visit the Braves tonight at 7 p.m. for game one of the all-West finals.
The fact that the Kettleers are there isn't an enormous shock. Y-D was the league's best team in the regular season, but they weren't so dominant that an upset seemed out of the question.
Monday's result -- that is a shock. The league high in runs this season was 15. From a historical perspective, before Monday, the largest margin of victory in a Cape League playoff game this decade was 12. Orleans beat Bourne 13-1 in the 2005 championship. The highest run total was 15 in 2000, when Brewster beat Chatham 15-4 in the semis.
That Cotuit set new high-water marks against this Y-D team is crazy. The Red Sox never allowed double-digit runs in the regular season. Their high was eight. And though they weren't quite as overpowering as their teams from a few years back, they were very, very good.
But on Monday, they had a very bad day, and Cotuit had a very good one. The Red Sox made five errors, walked nine batters and allowed 14 hits. The Kettleers marched to a 3-0 lead in the first and before long, had a serious cushion. They sent 10 men to the plate in the fourth and scored six runs for a 9-1 lead. Eight batted in the fifth as the Kettleers made it a 14-1 lead.
The individual numbers are gaudy. Cotuit's middle of the order -- Kevin Patterson, Cody Stanley, Cameron Rupp and Kevin Keyes -- combined to go 9-for-19 with 12 runs scored and 10 RBI. Rupp and Keyes both hit home runs, as did Tony Plagman. Amazingly, Cotuit scored its 18 runs while also leaving 11 men on base.
While Cotuit's pitching didn't need to be great yesterday, it was certainly good. After starter Jeff Walters went 2.1 innings, Craig Fritsch, who pitched for Y-D last year, went 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run.
And so Cotuit moves on to the first all-West final since the inception of the East-West format. A day ago, I would have given the edge to the Braves. They're rested and riding high.
Now I'm not so sure. This Cotuit team is a skeleton crew, but by all accounts, they've come together in that special way that only a difficult baseball postseason can create. If they can score 18 runs against the best team in the league -- even if it was just an aberration -- then anything's possible.
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as the fog settles in
The left-field sunset has faded. It is chilly now. You slip a sweatshirt on. The stat sheet you hold in your hands almost feels wet, the air is so damp. But the ink doesn't run. You can read it. That kid from LSU is still leading the league in home runs. That pitcher who they say throws 95 -- he's way up on the list in strikeouts.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.
The game is close, 3-2 through seven innings. You're staying till the end.
You look out at the field. Some fog has slipped in. It settles like smoke, just off the grass in front of the right fielder, like a cloud. When he runs through it to catch a fly ball, it looks almost magical, maybe even spiritual, like he's playing baseball in heaven.
Maybe he is.
The baseball is pure here. The players eager. The fans, maybe some of them don't know what they're seeing, maybe they just heard it was a fun night out, good for the family and everything -- but they know. They know somehow that this thing, this Cape League, is special.
Really, there's nothing like it.
I'm going to try and keep up.
Stop waxing poetic
The Cape Cod Baseball League is the top college summer league in the nation. Plenty of other leagues have cropped up of late, and some are having success, but the Cape League is still the model -- and the pinnacle. In 2006, 198 Major Leaguers had spent time in the Cape League.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.
The rosters are like a who's who of the best college baseball players. All the top prospects want to spend their summers on the Cape. The only better opportunity is Team USA. There are 10 teams in the league, divided into two divisions. Over the course of two months, they play 44 games. Scouts will watch many of them. They come because of the combination of talent and wood. Unlike college baseball, the Cape uses only wooden bats, providing an accurate picture of what players might do at the next level.
What else? Players live with host families. Some have part-time jobs (Jeff Bagwell worked at Friendly's). There's no admission charge at games. The level of baseball has been compared to Single A.
That should sum it up. If you have never experienced Cape League Baseball, you have missed out.
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