By: Josh White

COTUIT, Mass. – The grind of everyday baseball on the Cape can be grueling for college players who are accustomed to playing just a few times a week. With rainouts washing out originally scheduled contests in June, the Firebirds were in a tough position with 17 straight days with a game.

After exploding for 15 runs the night prior, Orleans looked like a team that had run out of gas. The Firebirds trailed the Cotuit Kettleers 6-1 after five innings at Lowell Park Sunday evening and simply could’ve checked out the final frames going into their first off day since June 27.

However, Orleans rallied for five runs in the sixth to force a 6-6 tie against Cotuit with the game being called after seven innings because of darkness.

“They’re high character guys and they play hard all the time,” manager Kelly Nicholson said. “It would’ve been easy to roll over and die with the day off, but they didn’t. They won’t. That’s not who they are. They showed that tonight.”

As the sun started to set in Cotuit, the Firebirds (14-11-3) were battling not only the second place team in the West Division but also daylight in the sixth frame. Orleans’ infielder Shay Whitcomb (UC San Diego) clobbered a one-out double off the right-field fence. The Firebirds’ ensuing batter struck out looking, bringing up the nine-hole hitter Zach Daniels (Tennessee).

Daniels chopped a slow roller up the right side and the Kettleers’ first baseman Mason McWhorter (Georgia Southern) shuffled to his right to gobble up the potential inning-ending ground out. The Firebirds’ centerfielder sprinted down the first base line, winning the foot race against Cotuit pitcher Bo Hofstra (Purdue) to extend the inning and ignite the Orleans’ dugout.

“Speed kills,” Nicholson said. “It says so much about this group of guys that even down 6-1 with an off day tomorrow they’re still running hard down the line every play.”

The next five Birds reached base, starting with Jacob Hurtubise (Army), who delivered a pinch-hit RBI infield single. Two pitches later, designated hitter Zach Britton (Louisville) shot a base hit into right, plating the speedy Daniels from second. East Division All-Star Max Troiani (Bentley) followed with a four-pitch walk, reaching base for the fourth time in the game.

Kettleers’ manager Mike Roberts brought in Kyle Nicolas (Ball State) to keep the score at 6-3, but Cotuit’s closer struggled on the bump. Nicolas fired a wild pitch past catcher Coltyn Kessler (Kentucky) bringing home Hurtubise and placing the tying run in scoring position. The right-hander issued the Kettleers’ eighth free pass of the night to Raymond Gil (Miami) to load the bases.

And Firebirds’ shortstop Tanner Murray (UC Davis) made Cotuit (15-11-3) pay. Murray ripped a two-run single on the first pitch he saw, erasing the five-run deficit.

“I knew he was going to throw a fastball,” Murray said. “I’ve been taking that first-pitch fastball and it came and I got it.”

Orleans brought up 10 batters in the inning, answering Cotuit’s five-run frame of its own in the fourth.

Right-hander Connor Pellerin (Tulane) dealt a scoreless seventh to lock up one point, featuring an electric heater that touched 95 mph and a wicked curveball to retire the Kettleers in order.

One day after securing Nicholson’s 350th career regular season win, the Firebirds remained undefeated against the Kettleers with the fourth and final game of the season series upcoming Tuesday evening at Eldredge Park. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

“It shows our resilience when faced with adversity,” Whitcomb said. “We’ve come back consistently in big moments after going down early.”

Short Hops

- All 13 Firebirds' position players appeared Sunday, despite the darkness-shortened affair

“I wanted everybody to get in today,” Nicholson said. “I didn’t want anyone to go without playing for two days. I wanted to keep everyone sharp and fresh.”

- Whitcomb played three different positions throughout Sunday evening for the first time in his collegiate career. The UC San Diego product started at shortstop, shifted to third base in the fifth before moving to second base in the sixth. Whitcomb extended his on-base streak to six, going 1-for-2 with two walks.  

- Right-hander Owen Sharts (Nevada) was released before the game because of an innings limit. Sharts made six appearances, including four starts, and recorded a 4.82 ERA across 18 2/3 innings pitched.