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Braves Dominate Cotuit with Solid Pitching
Jul 15, 2010
Author: Joseph Thompson

When the Bourne Braves pitching staff is efficient, they are lethal. They were lethal Thursday night in the 2-0 victory over the Cotuit Kettleers.

Braves starter Grayson Garvin was a machine. He struck out five in the course of seven innings allowing no runs. Garvin (Vanderbilt) entered the game with 2-0 record with an ERA of 1.15 thru three starts. With the victory tonight, Garvin now improves to 3-0 on the season and after not allowing any runs during seven innings his ERA will ultimately be lowered.

Equally as impressive as Garvin was the Braves bullpen consisting of R.J. Alvarez and Tony Zych who combined struck out three in two innings. Alvarez (Florida Atlantic) got one strike out while Zych is credited with two in the top of the ninth. Zych (Louisville) got the final Kettleer batter Chad Wright (Kentucky) to ground out to shortstop Nick Ahmed to secure the victory for the Braves.

As dominant as a pitcher can be, a pitcher can’t come up with a victory without some run support. The Braves didn’t lack in that department.

The Braves scored both of their runs in the bottom of the fourth. Designated hitter Scott Woodward led things off with a single that he ripped to left. Zack MacPhee followed that up with a single of his own with a shot over Cotuit second baseman Caleb Bushyhead (Oklahoma). Third baseman Travis Shaw (Kent State) would draw a walk which would load the bases for the Braves. Braves right fielder Daniel Bowman (Coastal Carolina) stepped up to the plate and clobbered a hard one into left scoring Woodward (Coastal Carolina) from third and MacPhee (Arizona State) from second.

The Braves could have scored more runs on the night, but they squandered a few scoring opportunities throughout the game. In the fourth, Mike Nemeth grounded into the rare 1-6-3 double play which stranded a pair in the inning.In the bottom of the fifth, the Braves squandered another scoring opportunity.

Braves shortstop Nick Ahmed (UConn) would get to first on a single and steal second, but he would be thrown out at second by Cotuit catcher James McCann (Arkansas) after taking too much of a lead. All of the missed scoring opportunities would not matter as the Braves pitchers would settle into the game and dominate for the win.

The Braves look to continue their winning ways Friday night when they take on the Hyannis Harbor Hawks at home. The first pitch is scheduled for 6PM.