The standings in the West are tightening up, and the Cotuit Kettleers need to win to keep pace with the Bourne Braves and Wareham Gatemen.

Their 9-1 loss Tuesday night to Falmouth hurt as it moved the Commodores a game closer to the top while the Kettleers remained stalled in a tie for second place with Wareham.

There was little Cotuit could do against Falmouth’s Dallas Buck (Oregon State) as he held Cotuit to just four hits. The Kettleer’s lone run came in the first when Bryan Harris (Cal State Fullerton) singled home Brad Boyer (Arizona). Jeff Manship (Notre Dame) got the start for Cotuit and went 4.2 innings giving up four runs on six hits. Tim Ladd (Georgia Tech) took over in the fifth surrendering five runs and Barret Browning (Florida State) came on in the sixth and retired his man to end the inning.

Taylor Parker (Missouri) and Chris Toneguzzi (Perdue) each followed with a scoreless inning of relief.

Monday the Kettlers knocked out 11 hits in a 6-3 win over the Hyannis Mets. Dan Moskos (Clemson) picked up the win in six innings of work allowing three runs only one of which was earned. Charles Blackmon (Young Harris) pitched the final two frames, earning his first save of the summer.

The Kettleers struck in the first inning with Boyer reaching on a base hit, stealing second, reaching third on an infield out and scoring on a passed ball.

The Mets picked up two runs in the third, but Cotuit came back with four runs in the fourth on five hits. They added a run in the fifth on a fence-clearing blast by Devin Thomas (Brown)

Thomas finished the afternoon 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI. Jason Donald (Arizona) and Todd Davison (Delaware) were each 2-for-3 at the plate with Davison picking up an RBI.

Hyannis suffered a 7-1 loss Sunday at the hands of the Kettleers as Cotuit hammered out 10 hits.

Boyer got things off to a fast start for the Kettleers with a solo home run to right field in the first inning. The Mets answered in the second with two runs of their own, but Cotuit didn’t let the Hyannis lead stand for long as they scored three times in the third with Michael Hollander (LSU), Davison, and Harris all crossing the plate.

Josh Johnson (Mississippi State) picked up his third win of the season with a seven inning-seven strikeout performance. Nathan Culp (Missouri) and Derik Olvey (Notre Dame) each pitched a perfect frame in relief.

The Kettleers added two runs in the sixth on a Thomas double down the left field line that scored Emeel Salem (Alabama) and Harris, and finished the afternoon off with a ninth inning RBI double by Boyer.

Boyer finished the day 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Harris was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Harwich robbed Cotuit Saturday in a 5-4 Mariner win. The Kettleers led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth only to surrender two runs in a game that featured five wild pitches.

Browning started the game for Cotuit lasting five innings and allowing two runs of which one was earned. Blackmon entered for an inning and two-thirds allowing another run before turning it over to Toneguzzi in the eighth. The Mariners’ runs in the ninth came on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

The Kettleers scored two runs in the third, each the result of a wild pitch. In the seventh Davison drove in Thomas with a single into left and in the eighth Thomas brought home Boyer.

Salem, Boyer, Julio Borbon, (Tennessee) and Thomas all finished with two hits while Roberto Lopez (USC) was 3-for-3.

Yarmouth-Dennis pounded Cotuit last Friday 10-3. Clay Dirks (LSU) got the ball to start the game and went four innings allowing five runs, four of them earned on six hits. He gave up a two-RBI home run in the second to Danny Lehmann (Rice).

Moskos came on for an inning and a third of relief and was tagged with a three-RBI fence-clearing blast by Chris Errecart (Cal-Berkley). Olvey pitched an inning and two-thirds before turning it over to Parker in the eighth who gave up Errecart’s second home run of the game.

Shane Jordan (Stetson) manufactured a run in the bottom of the first after he walked, stole second and then third, coming home on a throwing error. In the third inning, Borbon tripled and scored on a base hit by Hollander and in the fourth Boyer singled, went to second on a ground out and came home from second on a base hit into left field by Thomas.

A little more than halfway through the summer season and the Kettleers are third in the league in hitting with a team average of .245. Sean Gaston (Notre Dame) is leading the team at .301 with Donald (.295), Harris (.290), Boyer (.286) and Thomas (.278) all swinging the lumber well. The team is tied in second place with Falmouth for the most steals with 45 and Salem is third in the league in runs scored at 20.

From the hill the Kettleers rank eighth with a team ERA of 3.62. Culp (1-1) is ranked third in the league with an ERA of 0.77 in 23.1 innings and Johnson (3-0) with an ERA of 1.71 in 26.1 innings of work.

Cotuit heads for Brewster today for a 5 PM meeting with the Whitecaps.