A win at Brewster's Stony Brook Field Thursday night gave the Anglers their fifth in a row, besting the Whitecaps by a score of 6-2. Chatham's record now stands at 17-18-1, which keeps the boys in blue in fifth place in the Eastern Division, but just four points behind Orleans and Harwich who are tied for third with 39 points. Chatham starter Greg Larson (Florida) earned the victory, his first, allowing just one run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts through six innings of work.

Chatham struck first in the second inning after shortstop Joe DePinto (USC) and center fielder Brian Humphries (Pepperdine) walked in consecutive at-bats with two outs before catcher Jacob Stallings (UNC) and second baseman Riley Reynolds (Vanderbilt) singled in runs in consecutive at-bats to put the Anglers up 2-0. The Whitecaps would fight back in the bottom half of the frame with right fielder Derek Jones (Washington St.) walking to lead off the inning, followed by a double off the bat of catcher Jeremy Schaeffer (Tulane). A walk in the next at-bat by center fielder Nathan Melendres (Miami) loaded the bases before second baseman Jon Berti (Bowling Green) brought Jones home on a fielder's choice that retired Melendres at second to cut the Chatham lead in half 2-1.

After a scoreless third, Rick Oropesa (USC), playing third base for just the third time this season, blasted a solo home run to lead off the fourth and put the Anglers up 3-1. Another Chatham run would come across in the eighth after both Aaron Westlake (Vanderbilt) and Joe Pavone (UConn) singled to lead off the inning. DePinto singled two batters later before Pavone was brought home on a wild pitch with Humphries at the plate to extend the Anglers' lead to 4-1. Brewster would answer in the bottom half of the inning with left fielder Drew Martinez (Memphis) driving a solo home run to right, his first of the season, to cut the Chatham lead in half.

With the sun setting, and darkness becoming an issue due to the lack of overhead lighting at Stony Brook Field, the Anglers got lead off singles from left fielder Jason Martin (San Jose St.) and right fielder Beau Amaral (UCLA). With the runners on first and second, the two would execute their second double steal in as many games to put them in scoring position. After pinch-hitter Mark Ginther (Oklahoma St.) struck out swinging, Pavone dribbled a slow roller to the right side of the infield that was fielded awkwardly by Brewster first baseman Taylor Ard (Mt. Hood CC) and flipped to Berti covering from second in an attempt to make the tag. The momentum of the relay forced Berti into Pavone's path, causing a collision at the bag. With Berti reeling on the ground, Martin raced home to score, with Amaral advancing to third. With Oropesa at the plate in the next at-bat, a wild pitch from Brewster reliever Luke Bard (Ga. Tech) scored Amaral to put the Anglers up 6-2 for the eventual victory. Reliever Kevin Vance (UConn) worked a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to close out the contest.

The Anglers remain on the road Friday afternoon with a 5pm scheduled start against the Red Sox in Yarmouth-Dennis. Tune in to the broadcast beginning at 4:40pm with the Anglers Extra Pregame Show at www.chathamanglers.com, or dial in and listen live on your home or mobile telephone at 1-800-846-4700, team code 3841.

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www.flickr.com Chatham Anglers' Game 36 at Brewster, 7/29/10 photoset