FROM CCBL RELEASE
COTUIT, Mass.—Jonathan Jones (Long Beach St.) was a star in the second round playoff game at Lowell Park between the YD Red Sox and Cotuit Kettleers, doubling twice, driving in two runs and crossing the plate three times in his five at bats. The Y-D Red Sox beat the Kettleers 10-5.
“I came in playing like it was my last,” said Jones, who reached first base on all five appearances at bat. He was 4 for 5, reaching first on an error in the seventh. “We played like it was our last game. We were like, no, no way are we going home today. I did my job, I already know the next guy can do his job, and that’s what happens, everyone gets things rolling.”
Cameron Rupp (Texas) started the second inning with a solo home run on the first pitch he saw to put Cotuit ahead early, but the Kettleers couldn’t hang on to their 1-0 lead. Y-D tied it up in the third when first Jones and then Blake Kelso (Houston) hit doubles. The Red Sox scored two unearned runs in the fourth when Jones doubled again, taking advantage of several walks that right-hander Seth Blair (Arizona St.) gave up to Austin Wates (Virginia Tech) and Steve Chatwood(San Diego).
Blair was scratched for six hits and six runs in his 5.1 innings, only four earned, and walked three. Tyler Hanover (LSU) scored Caleb Ramsey (Houston) in the fifth with a single after Ramsey reached first on an error and stole second. Mike Nesseth (Nebraska) came in to relieve in the sixth but struggled with his inherited runners, giving up three runs right away and another two in the seventh.
Nesseth walked Kelso to load the bases in the sixth and walked Ramsey to score Ben McMahan (Florida). Mickey Wiswall (BC) then hit an RBI single to score Jones. Nesseth walked Wates with the bases loaded again to bring Kelso across the plate and the Y-D Red Sox found themselves up 7-1 by the middle of the sixth.
Austin Ross (LSU) put in a strong six innings for Y-D to keep the Cotuit bats quiet after Rupp’s home run. But with the crowd on both sides getting into it in the stands, the Kettleers scored two in the sixth. Rico Noel (San Diego) singled to start, and Chris Bisson (Kentucky) doubled. Zach Cone (Georgia) continued his streak of getting an RBI in every post-season game when he singled to score the speedy Noel. Kevin Patterson (Auburn) plated Bisson with a sacrifice fly to right field before the inning was over to cut the lead to 7-3.
The Y-D Red Sox scored two more in the seventh when Jones reached first on an error by third baseman Patterson and Kelso hit an RBI double that brought Jones home. Ramsey then drove in Kelso on a single before he was caught stealing second to end the inning. Cotuit tried to come back again in the bottom half of the eighth, scoring two runs when catcher Zach Maggard (FL Southern) scored Kevin Keyes (Texas) with a double and Noel brought Maggard home on a 4-6-3 double play.
Up 9-5 heading into the ninth, Y-D’s Chatwood hit a solo home run on a Matt Grace (UCLA) changeup to settle the score at 10-5. “The more important thing for me obviously was getting this win and getting to play tomorrow,” said Chatwood, “The home run was great, it’s always great, but I’m just happy we pulled this one out and get to play tomorrow.”
The Red Sox will face the Kettleers at home tomorrow on Red Wilson Field at 3pm. The two teams, tied in the series, will look to send the other home and move on to face Bourne in the championship series that begins on Tuesday.
