At the halfway point of the Cape Cod Baseball League season, the Cotuit Kettleers are on top with the best record in the league at 14-6-1. They lead the league in both pitching, with a 1.93 ERA and in hitting with a team batting average of .272. Coach Mike Roberts has the team working together well and hard as they enter the second half of the summer season ready to take it up another notch.

Justin Smoak’s (South Carolina) single into center field and a subsequent fielding error by the Bourne Braves allowed two runs to cross the plate in the bottom of the seventh Tuesday afternoon to tie the game at 3-3. Darkness caused the game to be called after nine innings, ending it in a tie.

Shane Mathews (East Carolina) got the start for the Kettleers and went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.

“The first three innings were a little rough,” Mathews explained, “I didn’t really have my good stuff. But not every day are you going to and you have to pitch and try to keep yourself in the ballgame. I wasn’t hitting my spots. The next three innings I got into a little better groove and threw better pitches. I put my slider in there, and it kept them a little bit off-balance and that gave me time to get my change-up working and then my fastball started working. It’s really a thinking game out there.”

Mathews throws a two- and four-seam fastball, a change-up, and slider.

“The change-up I think is the most effective pitch up here,” he added. had somewhat of a change-up before I arrived here, and Coach Roberts has helped me out a lot with it. Last night I had three full counts and got the strikeout on the change-up. I’ve got a lot of confidence in it.”

Bourne scored in each of the first three frames, but Kyle Russell (Texas) made it a 3-1 ballgame in the bottom of the fourth when he connected on a 1-0 pitch from Bourne starter and Longhorn teammate Kyle Walker (Texas) that cleared the left-centerfield fence.

Tim Ladd (Georgia Tech) pitched two strong innings of relief for the Kettleers, allowing just one hit before turning it over to closer Cory Gearrin (Young Harris).

The fourth inning proved decisive Monday afternoon as the Kettleers scored eight times, defeating Bourne 8-1. James Simmons (UC-Riverside) was outstanding going eight innings and allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out four and not giving up a walk.

“Early in the game I was leaving my change-up and fastball up in the zone,” Simmons admitted, “but I had some good defense behind me. Eric Farris bailed me out and turned a double play in one inning. As the game progressed I felt like I had more command of my off-speed stuff and the fastball, and I was getting the ball down.”

Simmons, at 3-0 and an ERA of 1.27, is one of the top pitchers of the first half of the Cape League season. He features a cutter, change-up, and two- and four-seam fastballs.

“I try to run the two-seam fastball in on right-handers and away from left-handers, the four-seam I throw outside to right-handers and inside to left-handers.”

Jeff Rea (Mississippi State) led Cotuit at the plate, finishing 2-for-5 with a couple of RBI. Bourne picked up its lone run in the eighth off a RBI double by David Cash (Florida). Matt Angle (Ohio State) had a fourth-inning base hit that collected two RBI. Simmon’s Highlander teammate Dan Runzler (UC-Riverside) came on to pitch a scoreless ninth.

Sunday Mike Cisco (South Carolina) gave Cotuit seven innings and holding off the Wareham Gatemen long enough for his teammates to put five runs on the board, picking up his first Cape League win by a score of 6-4

“I felt good, I felt strong,” Cisco said of his outing. “By the third inning, I had settled in and started to hit spots and was making some pitches. In the seventh I gave up a couple of 0-2 hits, which disappointed me at the time, but it is something that I can fix.”

Cisco has been working on his change-up since arriving on the Cape.

“I can only say good things about it the more I work on it,” he said of the change. “It’s getting better and better and was really working for me.”

Some pitchers approach a game a batter at a time, but not Mike Cisco. On the mound the South Carolina Gamecock thinks through every pitch he throws, adjusting and rethinking each time.

“I work from pitch to pitch,” he explained. “The thing that matters the most is the next pitch. The reason I came to the Cape was to work on my pitching. This league is the best around, and I feel that if I can have success here it will carry over for me.”

Young Harris College right-hander Jay Brown has signed a letter of intent to pitch at South Carolina in the fall, which makes Mike Cisco a happy Gamecock.

“From what I’ve seen he is an amazing pitcher and he’ll be an excellent addition,” Cisco said of his Kettleer teammate. “He can start, he can relieve, and he can close. I think he’ll get the job done at Carolina and help us out a lot.”

Cotuit scored three times in the opening inning and a half. In the first Jeff Rea (Mississippi State) led off with a double down the right field line and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Kellen Kulbacki (James Madison). In the second Matt Angle (Ohio State) and Sean Gaston (Notre Dame) scored unearned runs.

Wareham came back with two in the bottom of the second.

In the fourth Kulbacki was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded scoring Eric Farris (Loyola Marymount). A sacrifice fly by Reese Havens (South Carolina) then brought Rea home, making it 5-1 Cotuit.

The Gatemen added two in the bottom of the seventh cutting the Kettleer lead to 5-4, but in the top of the ninth Smoak drove in Rea with an insurance run. Rea finished the night 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. Gaston was 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Saturday Christian Staehely (Princeton) held Chatham to just one hit in six strong innings of work. A nice job in relief by Dave Duncan (Georgia Tech) and Graham Godfrey (College of Charleston) set the stage for Cory Gearrin (Young Harris), who struckout the two batters he faced in the ninth to earn his second save in a 1-0 Cotuit win. The victory improved Staehely to 2-1 for the season.

“My confidence grew as the game went on,” Staehely said. “One thing that Coach Roberts has helped me with here has been my change-up, and I’ve come to realize the important of the pitch. I’ve been working on it real hard and I think that is what is allowing me to have better starts as the season goes on. I didn’t know what to expect coming here from Princeton; the competition we play against here is a whole new level. I’m enjoying it here and happy with the results so far. I want to become more comfortable and more consistent out there this summer.”

The Kettleers scored their run in the bottom of the sixth when Justin Smoak doubled and scored on a double by Kulbacki. Smoak finished the day 4-for-2 with a run scored.
Friday Cotuit beat-up on another top team this summer handing Orleans a 5-0 defeat. Jay Brown (Young Harris) was outstanding allowing six hits over eight innings. Young Harris teammate Cory Gearrin finished off the ninth. Brown improved to 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00 in 20 innings of work this summer.

The highlight at the plate for the Kettleers came in the fifth inning, when Smoak launched his fourth home run of the season.

“It was a 1-0 pitch, and he hadn’t thrown me many fastballs all day,” Smoak smiled. “I got one to hit and was fortunate to have it go out of the park.”
The two-RBI shot by Smoak went over the left field fence. He leads the league in slugging at .588 and is first on the Kettleers in hitting a .324 

“This is a tough league, and I’m fortunate to be playing the way I am right now,” Smoak said. “I come out everyday and work with Coach Roberts and that has helped me out.”
Wednesday’s rainout against Chatham will be made up at a date to be announced. The next open date on the Cotuit schedule is Tuesday, August 1.