After a walk off win over Wareham Tuesday, Chatham was involved in another tight one Wednesday, escaping Doran Park with a 4-3 victory over the Bourne Braves.
Leading 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Braves had the tying run on second and the winning run on first against Chatham reliever Greg Shannon (San Jose State). Shannon, who had just walked Brave centerfielder Ben Guez (William and Mary) on four pitches, needed one more out with Josh Workman (Wichita State) at the plate.
As several close pitches went against Shannon in the inning and groans from A's fans and the A's dugout poured onto the field, the righty maintained focus and got Workman looking to end the game and save Chatham's second straight win.
The score was tied at one after six innings as the starters for each side were effective in limited action. Still working back to full strength from an injury, Chatham's Charles Brewer (UCLA) gave up one run on five hits and struck out two in four innings. Bourne's Wade Kapteyn (Evansville) did not even make it that far. He was pulled after three innings, surrendering one run on three hits.
The A's broke through in the seventh. Travis Beausoleil (UCONN-Avery Pt.), who scored the game winning run Tuesday, walked to lead off the inning. After Addison Johnson (Clemson) popped up a sacrifice attempt, Trey Watten (Abilene Christian) singled for the third time in the game.
Allan Dykstra (Wake) then flew out to deep right for the second out and it looked like Bourne might escape the jam unscathed. That was until Kevin McAvoy (Maine) lined a triple into right field to plate two runs and put Chatham ahead for good. McAvoy came around to score on the play as the relay throw from second basemen Bill Perry (Hartford) soared into the Bourne dugout and McAvoy was awarded home plate, giving Chatham a 4-1 lead.
Matt Giannini (Rutgers) got the win after relieving Brewer and giving up one run on two hits and striking out five in three innings of work. After struggling with his control mightily in the opener against Harwich, Giannini was on his game, spotting his fastball and throwing his breaking ball for strikes.
After an open date Thursday, Chatham starts a 4-game homestand Friday with a 7pm clash with Harwich. The Mariners defeated the A's 9-4 in the season opener in a game called in the bottom of the fifth due to a power failure in Harwich.
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