Kettleers Down Columbus All-Americans in First Exhibition

Kettleers Down Columbus All-Americans in Pre-Season Exhibition at Lowell Park

By John S. Condakes

COTUIT — The Kettleers welcomed the Columbus All-Americans of the Great Lakes league Monday afternoon and handed the visitors a 5-1 loss behind timely hitting and outstanding pitching. Manager Mike Roberts rotated his players throughout the game in order to give many of them a chance to start the season off on the right foot. Tennessee sophomore Nick Hernandez got the start on the mound for the Kettleers and did not disappoint as he pitched three shutout innings against the All-Americans. Cotuit struck first in the bottom of the first inning as Indiana’s Evan Crawford drove in Brett Jackson (University of Californiaat Berkeley) on a sacrifice fly and Florida Southern sophomore Robbie Shields followed on the next play due to a throwing error. The Kettleers were only able to score two runs (one earned) in four innings off of Columbus’s Kyle Hallock (Kent State) before he was relieved by Troy Balduf of Findlay University. Balduf was welcomed to the game by Cotuit’s Ryan Mollica (Florida International) who later scored on an RBI single by Purdue’s Dan Black. Columbus finally pushed a run across in the top of the sixth inning on a throwing error by the Kettleers. Cotuit struck back quickly as Jackson once again got on ahead of Shields and scored on Shields’s RBI single after showcasing his blazing speed and going from first to third on a throwing error. Northeastern’s Jeff Thompson pitched the seventh and eighth innings for Cotuit and did not allow a run. Black showcased some power in the eighth inning for the Kettleers as he launched a home run to right field. Jackson and Shields once again were able to reach base and pulled off a double steal before Columbus was able to end the inning. Daniel Wolford from the University of California at Berkley hurled a one-two-three ninth for Cotuit and with the game officially in the books, the teams decided to play the bottom of the ninth anyway for the added practice. Tim Mowry pitched a scoreless ninth for Columbus. The two teams will square off for another contest on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Lowell Field before the Kettleers begin their regular season with the home opener on Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Brewster Whitecaps.