Harbor Hawks Have Win Streak Spoiled at Home Against Cotuit

By: Matt Coates

The Hyannis Harbor Hawks hosted the first-place Cotuit Kettleers in a matchup on July 11th, looking to stretch their win streak to four games. 

Unfortunately, Cotuit (18-7) had other plans. The best in the West dominated this matchup, taking over after a tightly contested first half of this game. In the end, the Kettleers won by a margin of 16-7. 

“We let it get away,” Head coach Eric Beattie said. “It just went from bad to worse.” 

The Hawks (13-12-1) were their throwback orange jerseys, and the first inning proved that the magic hasn’t faded quite yet.

Hyannis starter Hayden Frank let two Cotuit players on in the top of the first inning but managed to get out of the inning unscathed. Then at the bottom of the first, the Harbor Hawks completed Mission Score first. First baseman Austin Kelly worked a walk with two outs in the bottom of the first. Next up was the reigning Writer’s Player of the Game Zach York. Just as he did last night, he delivered for his team. With a double to centerfield, Kelly rounded third and headed home to give Hyannis a one-run lead. 

Unfortunately, the game would not stay 1-0 for very long. Kettleers second baseman Emilien Pitre hit a ball that took a funky bounce in centerfield, allowing him to stretch his way to third base. He would cross the plate later in the second inning to tie the game. Luckily, the Hawks escaped the inning without any more damage. A strong throw by catcher Brody Donay paired with an electric catch and tag by Jon Jon Gazdar ended the inning with a 1-1 tie. 

 Frank retook the mound after a scoreless bottom of the second. After earning two quick outs, he gave Hyannis a scare. He called off Kelly on a pop fly near the mound, which fell and allowed the batter to settle at first. Then a hard-hit double put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Luckily, the next batter made good contact, but left fielder Trey Lipsey read it and made a nice catch on the warning track, keeping the score knotted at one.

Dennis Colleran entered the game in the top of the fourth inning, inheriting a runner on first and second with no outs. Cotuit showed why they’re the top dogs in the West division and have been for much of the season. They capitalized on their baserunners, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth. In the next inning, Colleran had an errant throw on a pickoff, allowing a Kettleers baserunner to waltz home. 

The Cotuit pitching settled in after the first inning, holding the Harbor Hawks scoreless through the eighth. As a team, they seemed to outmatch Hyannis all night long. The Kettleers outhit the Hawks 20 to 9.

Many of those Cotuit hits came in the latter half of the game. A home run on the first pitch of the sixth inning gave the Kettleers a 5-1 lead. Three more hits in the inning extended their lead to 7-1.

The top of the seventh completely slipped away from the Harbor Hawks, as they allowed five hits and four runs to fall behind 11-1 in the contest. 

Even with a ten-run deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth, Hyannis refused to relent. To the tone of the kids singing “Let’s Go Hawks” late into the light of “Children’s Night,” the bats got to work. 

The Hawks managed six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Lipsey and Alex Lane each had an RBI single of their own. However, the big show came from Eric Snow, who pinch-hit for Cam Smith in the eighth inning. He saw a pitch he liked in a 1-2 count and sent a shot over the wall for a grand slam.

Unfortunately for Snow and company, it would be too little too late in this matchup. They lost fell 16-7 to their Barnstable neighbor.

Hyannis will host a matchup against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in hopes of beginning a new win streak. The game will start at 6 p.m. at McKeon Park.

Matt Coates can be reached at coatesm@misericordia.edu or followed on Twitter @MattCoates14