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Chatham offense awakens in Wareham, explodes for 7-run 4th inning en route to 9-2 win
WAREHAM, Mass. — Amid struggles at the plate through two games, it’s only fitting Chatham would send a World Series champion reliever out to the mound for batting practice.
First-year manager Dennis Cook, who won the 1997 Fall Classic with the then-Florida Marlins, slinged fastballs with plenty of pace at Anglers’ hitters in Monday’s BP session. Cook wasn’t trying to relive the good old days; he wanted to prepare Chatham for Wareham lefty starter Cooper Consiglio. As a southpaw, Cook simulated Consiglio’s arm slot. A’s players praised Cook’s BP-tossing skills. Judging by Cook’s zoned-in eyes and beaming smile, he loved it, too.
“He kept us loose, for sure,” Chatham shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) said with a chuckle.
For Cook, a 15-year major leaguer who ended his career without allowing a single earned run in the postseason, emulating Consiglio must’ve been easy. Consiglio entered Monday having posted an abysmal 9.86 ERA at NC State this past spring. He hasn’t had much time to make adjustments after a disappointing collegiate campaign, and the Anglers pounced on him in a major way.
After a seven-run fourth inning where Chatham batted around, it was clear that Cook’s imitation of Consiglio paid off.
The A’s small pregame adjustment preceded the end of their offensive lull. Chatham (1-2, East) demolished Wareham (0-3, West) 9-2 at Spillane Field Monday for its first win of 2025 and first of Cook’s tenure. Along with a dominant start by right-handed pitcher Nate Taylor (Georgia), the Anglers’ offense woke up from their slumber with a 10-hit, nine-run performance. Going down on strikes just eight times while receiving a 10-strikeout, no-hit masterclass in four innings from Taylor defined Chatham’s most complete outing of the summer thus far.
Though only one element of the Anglers’ victory left Cook breathing a sigh of relief postgame.
“We finally got a hit with guys in scoring position,” he said.
It’s the brand of baseball Cook’s wanted to implement since day one. While the opening two contests were forgettable, it only took three days for Chatham to fire on all cylinders.
Cook said the Anglers’ issues at the dish stem from a passive plate approach. He felt players simply “guessed” at pitches the previous two days. The skipper wants players to maintain patience, but never be afraid to spot their pitch and drive it.
They seemed to be guessing early against Consiglio. He got through the first three innings unscathed, letting up two hits and zero runs with a pair of strikeouts. A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas) and first baseman Jake Hanley (Indiana) each got caught looking at strike three versus Consiglio. It felt like a repeat of a familiar story.
Cook keeps a rather hands-off managerial style in games, laying low behind protective netting a few yards from the A’s dugout. So, he’s not a part of extensive dugout discussions. He lets his players play. In this case, the onus was on them to figure out Consiglio's stuff.
“I don’t know if they made adjustments,” Cook said of his players. “It looked like (Consiglio’s) velocity came back a little bit. But they just started squaring him up pretty good, and just putting together good at-bats.”
Lane revealed how the Anglers adjusted, saying Consiglio didn’t mix his pitches effectively against them but they weren’t disciplined enough to sit on his fastball — which Consiglio isn’t afraid to use in two-strike counts.
“Just stay on the heater, and stay simple,” Lane said of Chatham’s approach.
Ethan Mendoza (No. 5) celebrates in the dugout after Chatham's seven-run fourth inning. Photograph by Ella Tovey.
Words were put to action in the fourth inning — courtesy of A’s catcher Noah Miller (Michigan). Chatham punished Consiglio the second time around the batting order, starting with a Lane walk and an opposite-field double by Hanley. It put ducks on the pond for Miller. Consiglio sent Miller four pitches in the zone, and on the fourth, he sat dead-red on an 0-2 fastball and crushed it into center field. Lane and Hanley scored, giving the Anglers a two-run cushion.
The Gatemen swapped Consiglio for Shea Wendt. It didn’t change the result. Chatham continued pouring it on.
The A’s loaded the bags after a Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) hit-by-pitch and a Duncan Mathews (South Alabama) base on balls. Mendoza stepped to the dish with one out and drilled a grounder toward Wareham shortstop Brayden Randle, who mishandled the ball. As it squeaked into the outfield grass, Miller and Freeman crossed home with ease.
A two-run single from Reese, his first hit with Chatham, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Lane closed the Anglers’ fourth-inning output at seven runs. Before Monday, they hadn’t plated multiple runs in an inning. But Spillane Field was the site of Chatham’s offensive awakening.
Immense aid from Taylor ignited a lopsided affair. The freshman hurler struck out the side in his first CCBL inning, pumping a litany of high-90s fastballs at the Gatemen lineup. Keeping hitters off-balance with heavy changeup use, a pitch that drops nearly 20 MPH below his heater, Taylor struck out eight of the Gatemen’s first nine batters.
Cook lauded Taylor’s nasty arsenal and said he was “proud” of his lengthy performance despite totaling just 8.1 innings at Georgia this spring. He thinks Taylor is one of the Anglers’ premier arms, even considering his stamina level of a reliever — four innings pushed it a tad.
“He’s a hard-working kid; he wants to be great,” Cook said of Taylor. “And he’s going to be.”
The Anglers materialized a few insurance runs, one off a fifth-inning RBI single by Cole Johnson (Austin Peay) and another in the seventh when Freeman scored off a Wareham wild pitch. Lefty reliever Josh Swink (Liberty) delivered an efficient outing, allowing just one earned run in three innings to prevent the Gatemen from bridging the chasm on the scoreboard. Nothing really went awry for the A’s.
Chatham needed an energetic performance after two days of swings and misses. Whatever magic elixir the Anglers found before their assertive fourth-inning is a potion they’ll need going forward. Or, maybe Cook’s BP session did the trick.
First-year manager Dennis Cook, who won the 1997 Fall Classic with the then-Florida Marlins, slinged fastballs with plenty of pace at Anglers’ hitters in Monday’s BP session. Cook wasn’t trying to relive the good old days; he wanted to prepare Chatham for Wareham lefty starter Cooper Consiglio. As a southpaw, Cook simulated Consiglio’s arm slot. A’s players praised Cook’s BP-tossing skills. Judging by Cook’s zoned-in eyes and beaming smile, he loved it, too.
“He kept us loose, for sure,” Chatham shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) said with a chuckle.
For Cook, a 15-year major leaguer who ended his career without allowing a single earned run in the postseason, emulating Consiglio must’ve been easy. Consiglio entered Monday having posted an abysmal 9.86 ERA at NC State this past spring. He hasn’t had much time to make adjustments after a disappointing collegiate campaign, and the Anglers pounced on him in a major way.
After a seven-run fourth inning where Chatham batted around, it was clear that Cook’s imitation of Consiglio paid off.
The A’s small pregame adjustment preceded the end of their offensive lull. Chatham (1-2, East) demolished Wareham (0-3, West) 9-2 at Spillane Field Monday for its first win of 2025 and first of Cook’s tenure. Along with a dominant start by right-handed pitcher Nate Taylor (Georgia), the Anglers’ offense woke up from their slumber with a 10-hit, nine-run performance. Going down on strikes just eight times while receiving a 10-strikeout, no-hit masterclass in four innings from Taylor defined Chatham’s most complete outing of the summer thus far.
Though only one element of the Anglers’ victory left Cook breathing a sigh of relief postgame.
“We finally got a hit with guys in scoring position,” he said.
It’s the brand of baseball Cook’s wanted to implement since day one. While the opening two contests were forgettable, it only took three days for Chatham to fire on all cylinders.
Cook said the Anglers’ issues at the dish stem from a passive plate approach. He felt players simply “guessed” at pitches the previous two days. The skipper wants players to maintain patience, but never be afraid to spot their pitch and drive it.
They seemed to be guessing early against Consiglio. He got through the first three innings unscathed, letting up two hits and zero runs with a pair of strikeouts. A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas) and first baseman Jake Hanley (Indiana) each got caught looking at strike three versus Consiglio. It felt like a repeat of a familiar story.
Cook keeps a rather hands-off managerial style in games, laying low behind protective netting a few yards from the A’s dugout. So, he’s not a part of extensive dugout discussions. He lets his players play. In this case, the onus was on them to figure out Consiglio's stuff.
“I don’t know if they made adjustments,” Cook said of his players. “It looked like (Consiglio’s) velocity came back a little bit. But they just started squaring him up pretty good, and just putting together good at-bats.”
Lane revealed how the Anglers adjusted, saying Consiglio didn’t mix his pitches effectively against them but they weren’t disciplined enough to sit on his fastball — which Consiglio isn’t afraid to use in two-strike counts.
“Just stay on the heater, and stay simple,” Lane said of Chatham’s approach.
Ethan Mendoza (No. 5) celebrates in the dugout after Chatham's seven-run fourth inning. Photograph by Ella Tovey.
Words were put to action in the fourth inning — courtesy of A’s catcher Noah Miller (Michigan). Chatham punished Consiglio the second time around the batting order, starting with a Lane walk and an opposite-field double by Hanley. It put ducks on the pond for Miller. Consiglio sent Miller four pitches in the zone, and on the fourth, he sat dead-red on an 0-2 fastball and crushed it into center field. Lane and Hanley scored, giving the Anglers a two-run cushion.
The Gatemen swapped Consiglio for Shea Wendt. It didn’t change the result. Chatham continued pouring it on.
The A’s loaded the bags after a Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) hit-by-pitch and a Duncan Mathews (South Alabama) base on balls. Mendoza stepped to the dish with one out and drilled a grounder toward Wareham shortstop Brayden Randle, who mishandled the ball. As it squeaked into the outfield grass, Miller and Freeman crossed home with ease.
A two-run single from Reese, his first hit with Chatham, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Lane closed the Anglers’ fourth-inning output at seven runs. Before Monday, they hadn’t plated multiple runs in an inning. But Spillane Field was the site of Chatham’s offensive awakening.
Immense aid from Taylor ignited a lopsided affair. The freshman hurler struck out the side in his first CCBL inning, pumping a litany of high-90s fastballs at the Gatemen lineup. Keeping hitters off-balance with heavy changeup use, a pitch that drops nearly 20 MPH below his heater, Taylor struck out eight of the Gatemen’s first nine batters.
Cook lauded Taylor’s nasty arsenal and said he was “proud” of his lengthy performance despite totaling just 8.1 innings at Georgia this spring. He thinks Taylor is one of the Anglers’ premier arms, even considering his stamina level of a reliever — four innings pushed it a tad.
“He’s a hard-working kid; he wants to be great,” Cook said of Taylor. “And he’s going to be.”
The Anglers materialized a few insurance runs, one off a fifth-inning RBI single by Cole Johnson (Austin Peay) and another in the seventh when Freeman scored off a Wareham wild pitch. Lefty reliever Josh Swink (Liberty) delivered an efficient outing, allowing just one earned run in three innings to prevent the Gatemen from bridging the chasm on the scoreboard. Nothing really went awry for the A’s.
Chatham needed an energetic performance after two days of swings and misses. Whatever magic elixir the Anglers found before their assertive fourth-inning is a potion they’ll need going forward. Or, maybe Cook’s BP session did the trick.
