|
By Kathleen Szmit
kszmit@barnstablepatriot.com
|
Kathleen Szmit Photo
DOUBLING HIS PLEASURE – Cotuit Kettleer shortstop Reese Havens had one heck of a day recently, hitting two stellar home runs to help break a Cotuit losing streak – but not before sinking his first hole in one at the High Grounds course in Cotuit.
|
Each summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League great catches are made, stellar pitches are thrown and long homers are hit. Many players walk off the field with some precious memories tucked beneath their baseball caps.
This season, though, there is one player who will take away perhaps one of the best memories of the summer. Ironically, it all began not on the baseball field but on the links at High Grounds Country Club in Cotuit.
To kill a little time before the Kettleers’ road game against Wareham on July 26, Reese Havens and teammate Mike Cisco decided to play a round of golf. “I probably played about 10 times before that,” said Havens.
While baseball is Havens’ first love, golf has been a means of unwinding. At least until the fourth hole, that is, when relaxation became the last thing on his mind.
Havens teed off on the par three and watched as the ball sailed toward the green. “It’s kind of downhill so you can see the hole from the top,” he said. “The ball hit the fringe on the green, came back, and then went in the cup.”
That’s right. Havens hit a hole in one. “I was in awe,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t really know what had happened. I walked up to the cup and that was it.”
The first person to learn of the extraordinary event was Havens’ host dad, Rich Petze of Centerville. “Then I called my dad back home,” said Havens.
That night, with his golf milestone still on his mind, Havens, playing for Cotuit for his second season, stepped up first to bat at Spillane Field and promptly slammed a sweet home run on the first pitch of the game.
As if that wasn’t enough for one day, Havens homered again in the seventh, a long ball that Petze swore had to have traveled more than 400 feet. The homers were a big help in a win that put an end to the Kettleers 12-game losing streak.
“That was a pretty good day,” said Havens. “It’s gonna be hard to have another day like that. It’s one of many great memories on Cape Cod. Probably the best one.”
|
|
