It was a wide margin on the scoreboard, but the Chatham Anglers (2-1) were right there against the Brewster Whitecaps (3-0) in a 6-0 loss on Thursday night. The Anglers were able to put nine men on base and move five runners into scoring position, but they lacked the timely hitting to get those runners home.

Zack Short makes a defensive play against Brewster Thursday night.

“You’re going to face good teams in this league," said Manager John Schiffner. "Give credit to Brewster. They threw well.”

The best early scoring chance for the Anglers came in the top of the fourth inning when they loaded the bases with one out against the Brewster starter, Brandon Gold (Georgia Tech). Aaron Barnett (Pepperdine) hit the ball hard, but it was right at the Whitecap second baseman, Nick Senzel (Tennessee), who converted the 4-6-3 twin killing to wash the threat away.

Box Score: Game Tracker

The Anglers were again able to load the bases against Gold’s successor, Hansen Butler (North Carolina), with only one out in the sixth inning. However, Butler was able to work out of his own mess with a strikeout and a fly out to spoil another Angler opportunity.

“We'll flush it and come back tomorrow,” said Aaron Knapp (California), who had a hit and was hit by a pitch in the game. “It was one of those days that it just didn’t go our way, but hits will fall and things will happen for us.”

Gabe Friese (Kennesaw State) started for Chatham. He was tagged with the loss, surrendering four earned runs and seven hits in an "up and down" four innings.

The Whitecaps got to Friese for two runs in the first. Tyler Ramirez (North Carolina) drove in one run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, and Eli White (Clemson) followed with an RBI single that just got through the hole between first and second. White attempted to steal his way into scoring position with two outs during the subsequent at-bat, but Aaron Barnett gunned him down in cold blood to end the inning.

Friese demonstrated a short memory the next inning out, striking out a pair of Whitecaps in a scoreless frame.

The bottom halves of the third and the fourth innings appeared to be an interpretation of “Groundhog Day.” In the third, Brewster again scored two runs in the same way— Ramirez drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and White followed with an RBI single.

And in the subsequent frame, Friese again resiliently hung a zero. 

“[Friese] did some good things, and he has to do some things better,” said Schiffner.

A couple of Angler relievers had solid performances out of the pen following up Friese. Jonathan Teaney (San Diego) gave up one earned run and two hits over three innings, and Rob DiFranco (Bates) sat down two despite yielding one earned run in an inning.

Schiffner added: “Teaney also looked good considering he hasn’t thrown in quite some time.”

The Anglers will look to return to their winning ways Friday against the same Brewster team at 7:00 p.m. in Chatham.