Chatham Still Looking for First Win
by Anglers Media Team
Sunday, June 12, 2011
On a cool, drizzly Saturday in Chatham, the Anglers came up short in a bid for their first victory of the season. The Wareham Gatemen took an early lead and staved off the Anglers' late rally to win by a final of 6-3.
At Veterans Field for the first time in 2011, Chatham struggled to get the bats going. The Anglers managed seven hits on the evening, one night after they had scored seven runs in the season opener. No Chatham player had a multi-hit game, with the only extra base hits going to Kris Bryant (San Diego) and Brent Hopkins (Rhode Island).
Wareham's starter Bobby Brosnahan looked nothing like the Michigan ace that went 1-9 for the Wolverines last spring. Brosnahan fanned nine through six complete before handing the ball over to his bullpen. The southpaw did not allow a run and gave up only four hits to the Anglers.
The Gatemen mustered most of their scoring early. Consecutive base hits to start the game by Brandon Thomas (Georgia Tech) and Johnny Field (Arizona) set the table. Both later came home to score on a pair of two-out hits by Georgia Tech's Daniel Palka and Michigan's Derrick Dennis. After two in the first, Wareham added a pair in the top of the second inning. All the second inning production came after the first two Gatemen hitters were retired.
Monmouth product Pat Light got the start for Chatham. The sophomore who had three complete games across 13 starts in the collegiate season worked through just four innings and gave up eight hits. Two of the four runs scored while Light was on the bump were earned, as the Anglers made multiple defensive mistakes in the early innings.
Chatham's major offensive production came in the eighth with the score 4-1. A leadoff double by Bryant turned into a run when centerfielder Brandon Thomas dropped a fly ball two batters later. Matt Fleishman (Villanova) also came around to score in the inning after a base on balls as Hopkins put a line drive into the gap. The outburst trimmed Wareham's lead to 4-3, but that was as close as Chatham could get.
Tucker Healy (Ithaca), Brent Warner (Bridgewater State), Harry Marino (Williams College), and Matt Brazis (Boston College) helped out in relief for Chatham. Brazis finished the contest in a soggy 9th inning which began with two walks and a base knock for the Gatemen. Brazis induced a ground ball and got the lead out to keep the Wareham lead at one, only to walk in a run when Jeff Reynolds (Harvard) received a free pass. The Gateman got one more in the frame and Chatham went quietly in the bottom half.
Eight of the nine starters for the Anglers reached base, but only Fleishman got on base more than once. The Anglers have scored ten runs across two games played, only to tie the first and drop the second. The crew will travel to Falmouth (0-2) on Sunday for a day-night doubleheader with the Commodores. First pitch of game one is slated for 4pm, both teams are still looking to get in the win column.