The Anglers (6-1) incredible undefeated streak came to an end on Wednesday, as they fell to the Bourne Braves 1-0. After an off day on Thursday, Chatham looks to get back to their winning ways as they face the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (4-2) on Friday night at Veterans Field.
"There is some bad news, we are not going 44-0," Coach
John Schiffner said. "I am not worried about the team. It's baseball, you just have to stay loose and come back out the next day."
Chatham's 6-0 start tied the longest undefeated streak since 2007, when the Y-D Red Sox went 6-0, and would eventually win the Cape League championship. That team featured current MLB stars such as Buster Posey, catcher for the San Francisco Giants, and Gordon Beckham, second-baseman for the Chicago White Sox.
The Anglers had their first off day of the season in a week on Thursday, and despite going into it after a loss, Schiffner told his team to relax, and thinks the day off will benefit his team.
"I told the team to take the day off and relax, cause it's Cape Cod, and if we get rain, they might not have another off day for a while," Schiffner said. "We had been going at it hard since June 5, so I think a day off for the team will be good."
This will be the second time in four days that the Anglers and Harbor Hawks will face off. In their first matchup, Chatham won in a rout in which the Angler offense collected 10 runs and 15 hits in an offensive outburst.
The Anglers wish they could have saved some of those runs for Wednesday, as they could not muster a single run on on six hits against the Braves.With their first loss of the season finally under their belt, the Anglers are looking to use it as motivation coming into Friday night.
photo by Chelsea Capwell/Chatham Anglers
Lukas Schiraldi (Texas) will look to improve off of his debut performance.
"We are going to use the loss as determination," catcher
Hunter Redman said.
On the mound for the Anglers will be the big right-hander from Austin, Texas,
Lukas Schiraldi (Texas). In his first outing against the Brewster Whitecaps, Schiraldi struggled to find the strike zone, and ended up giving up two earned-runs and four walks. The Anglers offense woke up in that game, and were able to take Schiraldi off the hook for the loss, and pick up the win against the Whitecaps.
Despite Schiraldi's struggles in his first outing, Schiffner has no doubt about his abilities, and expects good things from his second outing of the season.
"He will want to improve on his first start, He threw alright in his first outing, but I think he knows he can do better," Schiffner said. "You build off of what happened the first start, and look to improve. That is what a baseball player does."
Looking to give the Anglers their second straight loss of the season will be Hyannis right-hander Cy Sneed (Dallas Baptist). In his first start of the season, Sneed threw five innings in the Harbor Hawk's 5-4 win over Falmouth. In his outing, he gave up one earned run off of two hits, and struck out four.
Chatham still leads the league in hitting, with a .278 batting average. The Anglers sit in first place of the Eastern Division with their 6-1 record. They are six points clear of the second-place Harwich Mariners (3-3).
First pitch is at 7 p.m. Tune into the Anglers Extra Pregame Show at 6:40 p.m. for live coverage with broadcasters Brandon Liebhaber and Keith Zubrow at TRZ Teamline or call 1-800-846-4700, code 3841.