COTUIT, Mass. – The Falmouth Commodores’ bats erupted for nine runs on Saturday night. This offensive clinic fueled the club’s 9-4 victory against the Cotuit Kettleers, extending Falmouth’s winning streak to three games.
The win also moves the ‘Dores into second place in the West Division. Assistant coach Brett Becker said that this game is important for the club, as it works towards reaching the postseason.
“It’s huge,” Becker said. “They’re two points ahead and we just found a way to tie them up in the points column, so it’s big going forward.”
Kris Armstrong had an impressive night at the plate, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. The first baseman said that he attributes this success to a change in his approach, in which he focused on hitting the ball towards center field.
“The previous few games, I was just trying to pull the ball a little bit too much,” Armstrong said. “So, I just tried to simplify things and hit the ball hard up the middle, and it worked for me today.”
Jace Bohrofen was also very productive, as he went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
The Commodores’ pitching got the job done, holding the Kettleers to just four runs. Anthony DeFabbia was outstanding in relief, holding the opposition scoreless in 2.1 innings of work. The southpaw entered the ballgame during a jam in the bottom of the first, relieving starter Adam Stone.
The Kettleers opened the scoring early, taking a 1-0 lead over the ‘Dores in the first. Noah Bridges brought home the first run of the game on a fielder’s choice, scoring Carter Trice.
Falmouth then took the lead in the following frame, plating a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead over Cotuit. Jonathan French helped tie the game by reaching first on a throwing error by the Kettleers’ third baseman, scoring Anthony Hall. Michael Curialle then gave the club the lead by scoring on Luke Boyers’ RBI groundout.
The Commodores extended their lead to 4-1 in the third inning, on a two-run blast by Armstrong. The Florida Gator launched a dinger just inside the right field foul pole, driving in Bohrofen.
Cotuit got one of these runs back in the bottom of the fourth inning, trimming its deficit to 4-2. Luke Gold laced an RBI double into the left-center field gap, plating Jace Grady.
The Commodores added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth, extending their lead to 6-2 over the Kettleers. Armstrong ripped an RBI single to center field, scoring Bohrofen. Hall followed this by smoking an RBI double into the right-center field gap, bringing home Armstrong.
Falmouth kept the pedal to the gas in the sixth, posting a three-run frame to take a 9-2 advantage against Cotuit. Armstrong drove in his fourth run of the night, plating Casey Harford with a sacrifice fly to right field. Curialle then drove home Bohrofen by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field. Boyers capped off the scoring by drawing a walk with the bases loaded, allowing Taylor Smith to cross the dish.
Cotuit attempted to rally in the bottom half of the frame, trimming its deficit to 9-4 on a two-run homer to right field by Trice.
This would hold as the final score, as the game was called after the sixth inning, due to darkness.
The victory improves the club’s record to 11-13-2 on the season. The Commodores will return to action against the Chatham Anglers on July 25 at 6 p.m., from Guv Fuller Field.
Note: Featured image by Meghan Murphy.
Click here for Saturday night’s box score.
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Click here for the 2021 Falmouth Commodores schedule.
Tommy Mumau can be reached at tmumau@ithaca.edu. Follow him on Twitter @tommymumau13.
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