A chance to make the playoffs will be on the line when the Wareham Gatemen come to Lowell Park tomorrow to face the Cotuit Kettleers in the second to last game of the regular season. The Bourne Braves (24-16-1, 49 points) clinched a playoff berth and at least a tie for the Western Division regular season championship with their 4-2 win over the Hyannis Mets Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Cotuit lost to Chatham and Wareham lost to Falmouth, leaving the Kets, the Gatemen and the Commodores within two points of each other with three games to go.

The Kettleers, in second place (20-18-3, 43 points), are in position to control their own fate, with the Gatemen a point behind in third (20-19-2, 42 points) and the Commodores another point behind in fourth (20-20-1, 41 points). All three teams were off yesterday.

Wareham appears to have the most challenging schedule the rest of the way, with games against the two division leaders sandwiched around tomorrow’s contest in Cotuit. The Gatemen entertain East-leading Orleans tonight and end the season at home Sunday against Bourne.

The Kets’ and Commodores’ schedules look comparable: both have games left against Bourne and Hyannis (7-32-1, 15 points after losing 19 of their last 20). Falmouth visits Hyannis today and hosts Bourne tomorrow before finishing up at Yarmouth-Dennis, a .500 team, Sunday.

The Kets visit Bourne tonight before wrapping up the regular season at home against the Gatemen tomorrow and Hyannis Sunday.

Cotuit leapfrogged over Wareham and into second place in the West Monday. While Kets All-Star closer Chris Tonneguzzi was collecting his seventh save in a 7-6 win at Y-D, the Gatemen were losing a 1-0, 11-inning heartbreaker in Brewster. Western Division All-Star game MVP Daniel Bard took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and was lifted after shutting out the Whitecaps on one hit through nine frames.

Tomorrow’s pitching match-up could be one of the best of the season. Skipper Mike Roberts has tabbed ace Josh Johnson (4-0, 1.58 earned run average) to go for the Kets. Wareham had not announced its starter by the Patriot’s deadline, but Bard (3-2, 1.24 ERA), will have had four days’ rest since his near no-no and should be ready if called upon.

Game time is 4:30 p.m.

Patriot Cup presentation after Sunday’s game

Fans should be sure to stay for the end of Sunday’s 2 p.m. season finale against Hyannis. After the game, the Kets will be presented with the second annual Barnstable Patriot Cup. Cotuit clinched the Cup with their 6-4 win at Hyannis July 28.

The Patriot introduced the Cup last year, presenting it to the winner of the regular season series between the only Cape League teams that share a home town. The Mets won the inaugural Cup, clinching it on the last day of the regular season in a heart-stopping victory that also earned them a playoff berth.

Like most Kets-Mets contests since the Cup was introduced, this year’s clincher was close. Cotuit jumped out to a 6-1 lead with back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and the fifth, but Hyannis narrowed the gap to 6-3 with two in the sixth, then scored one in the ninth to pull within two. With two men on, Hyannis brought the winning run to the plate with one out. Tonneguzzi struck out Andrew D’Alessio for the second out, but Chris Johnson connected on a deep line drive that Kets right-fielder Shane Jordan caught on the run to snuff out the Mets’ last hope.

By David Curran
dcurran@barnstablepatriot.com