The Anglers dropped their third straight contest Wednesday night at Falmouth, and have now lost eight of their last ten. A late run by the Commodores off of Chatham reliever Kevin Berry (New Orleans) in the eighth inning gave Falmouth a 3-2 lead, and the eventual victory. Chatham's record has dropped below .500 for the first time this season with a record of 12-13-1, good for fourth best in the Eastern Division.
Chatham starter Chris Munnelly (UNC) pitched very well through the first five innings of his second start of the season (fifth overall outing) facing just two batters over the minimum with no hits allowed and four strikeouts. He received one run of support in the top of the sixth, after center fielder Brian Humphries (Pepperdine) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He would advance to third after shortstop Stephen Perez (Miami) laid down a bunt that was thrown away by Falmouth catcher Chris O'Brien, allowing Perez to advance to second. Commodores starter Christian Jones (Oregon) was chased from the contest before the next at-bat, yielding to lefty reliever Steven Gruver (Tennessee) who, while pitching to Mark Ginther (Oklahoma St.) in the next at-bat, threw a wild pitch to allow Humphries to score and give the Anglers a 1-0 lead.
The Commodores wouldn't play from behind for long, scoring two in the bottom half of the inning after O'Brien singled to lead off the frame. He advanced to second in the next at-bat on a sacrifice bunt, and came around to score on an RBI single by shortstop K.C. Serna (Oregon) in the next at-bat to tie the score. Serna advanced to third on a hit-and-run single by Kyle Van Tungelin (TCU), and scored on an RBI sacrifice bunt by Kevin Medrano (Missouri St.) to give Falmouth a 2-1 lead.
Chatham fought back to tie the score in the top of the eighth after Beau Amaral (UCLA), placed in the lineup after Humphries was removed for precautionary reasons after being hit by a pitch, singled to lead off the inning. In the next at-bat, Amaral advanced to second on a wild pitch by Gruver, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Perez. Gruver was removed from the game and replaced by right handed reliever Kaleb Merck (TCU), who tossed a wild pitch with Ginther at the plate to score Amaral and tie the game.
Berry came on to start the eighth inning for his second inning of relief and retire the first two batters he faced before allowing a stand up double by Van Tungelin. Medrano would strike out in the next at-bat, but the third strike skipped away from Chatham catcher Jacob Stallings (UNC), allowing Medrano to reach first and keep the inning alive. Falmouth left fielder Nick Martini (Kansas St.) singled in the next at-bat to score Van Tungelin, and put the Commodores up 3-2 for the eventual victory.
The Anglers return home to Veteran's Field Thursday night to welcome in the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox for the second time this week, with first pitch scheduled for 7pm. Tune in to the broadcast starting at 6:40pm with the Anglers Extra Pregame Show by going to www.chathamanglers.com , or dial in to the TRZ Teamline on your home or mobile telephone at 1-800-846-4700, team code 3841.