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Chatham offense hushed again by Bourne in 6-1 home defeat
CHATHAM, Mass. — Dennis Cook pulled no punches when laying into his team Friday following a brutal outing in Yarmouth-Dennis, where the Anglers lacked energy in a 9-2 loss. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was happening outside the A’s dugout as players and coaches huddled in a circle, the former of whom receiving a scathing earful from Cook.
“Uninspired” was the key word Cook invoked when speaking postgame of Chatham’s crumbling effort against Y-D. He knows these players are here on a quest to make Major League Baseball. So it puzzled — and agitated — Cook that his team performed like they were going through the motions, instead of playing as if there’s someone hungrier behind them ready to take their spot.
The message clearly hasn’t sunk in yet. In the ninth inning Saturday, with the Anglers down five runs to Bourne, Cook said the message was to take until a strike against Braves’ reliever Jonathan Stevens. The A’s leadoff hitter, Cole Johnson (Austin Peay), swung and missed at a 1-0 pitch.
Chatham promptly went down in order to close the game.
“The game is fast for a few of them,” Cook said of his team postgame. “They need to figure out a way to slow it down and quit trying to do too much.”
In its second straight loss, Chatham (2-4-1, East) never found a rhythm against Bourne (2-4-1, West) Saturday at Veterans Field, falling 6-1. Six strikeouts in the first two innings from right-handed starter JT Quinn (Georgia) provided early hope for the home team. Once the A’s fell behind the Braves by two runs after three frames, though, their deficit appeared completely insurmountable. The Anglers’ offense remained lifeless. Quinn allowed four earned runs in 4.0 innings — an amount of damage the A’s couldn’t replicate across nine innings.
“Obviously, you’re not going to win very many ball games when you score one run,” Cook said. “So, we got to find a way to score runs, get baserunners. We are just not squaring the ball up.”
Seven games into the summer, Chatham is still searching for its offensive identity. With slugging star catcher Chase Fralick (Auburn) and a former .316 Cape League hitter in Ashton Larson (LSU) set to arrive within days, the cavalry coming might be what the Anglers need.
Because whatever’s happening right now isn’t working.
Chatham’s .175 team batting average ranks ninth of 10 Cape Cod Baseball League teams. Its .563 OPS ranks ninth. Its strikeout total (82) leads the league. Its RBI count (21) isn’t impressive. The A’s can hang their hat on their pitching statistics — accumulating the third-best team WHIP (1.18) thus far — but other than that, the numbers are bleak.
Bourne entered Veterans Field with a 6.19 team ERA, the worst in the Cape League through six games. But the Anglers followed the same script.
“You come to a point where you get sick and tired of being 0-for-4 every night,” Cook said.
Bourne manager Scott Landers elected to start Texas Tech righty Zane Petty against the A’s. Facing Chatham in his first start of the summer on June 15, Petty allowed one earned run and struck out six across 4.2 innings. On Saturday, he got back right where he left off, retiring the Anglers’ 1-2-3 hitters to match a spotless first inning from Quinn.
Cook said he wants Chatham to improve its situational hitting. The A’s simply aren’t moving enough baserunners, nor driving them in when they’re in scoring position. They faltered in their first shot at answering Cook’s call Saturday, as catcher Noah Miller (Michigan) hit into a 5-3 groundout with ducks on the pond to end the second inning. Petty then sat them down in order in the third.
A one-out double from Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) in the bottom of the fourth led to the A’s third baseman scoring on a Daniel Jackson (Georgia) sacrifice fly. Finally, a proper example of situational hitting. But moments like that occurred too little, too late for the Anglers.
In the two innings prior, Quinn got tattooed by the Braves’ bats, giving up seven hits in the third and fourth frames. A couple of errant throws from the hot corner by Gallaher — though only one was ruled an error — helped Bourne stockpile baserunners in the third inning. RBI singles from Braves’ first baseman Braden Holcomb and third baseman Kade Lewis handed the Anglers a 2-0 third-inning disadvantage — which increased to 4-0 after an RBI sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk by Quinn in the fourth.
A lot of activity on one side, minimal movement on the other.
Jackson’s RBI flyout to deep center field was the only run the A’s tallied. Chatham went hitless across the fifth and sixth frames, the latter of which ended on a Jake Hanley (Indiana) check-swing strikeout with runners on first and second. And to close the seventh, after Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and Ethan Mendoza (Texas) ripped back-to-back singles, Henry Ford (Virginia/transfer) struck out looking — the center fielder’s fourth K of the night.
“We need to have nine guys put in four good at-bats a game, and then see what happens. Right now, we’re just not having good at-bats,” Cook said. “We have to find a way to compete.”
Southpaw bullpen arm Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) originally provided a bright spot for the Anglers, tossing two shutout innings to begin his night. But in the top of the seventh, he allowed a two-run double to Braves catcher Weber Neels, extending the A’s deficit to five. Considering Chatham’s uninspired offense to that point, that was essentially all she wrote.
For Cook, Chatham’s issues at the plate are confusing. The A’s are loaded with a litany of top-tier talent, featuring the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Hanley and a top-100 ranked MLB Draft prospect in Ford, among other collegiate studs. Cook knows they’re primed for a breakout. But there haven’t been many signs for optimism lately — there’s only been concern.
“What needs to happen is, they need to start hitting like they’ve hit everywhere they’ve been,” Cook said. “We got guys that have hit everywhere they’ve been at, multiple .300-plus average guys with power.
“Listen, this is a tough game that separates the men from the boys. So they gotta figure it out.”
“Uninspired” was the key word Cook invoked when speaking postgame of Chatham’s crumbling effort against Y-D. He knows these players are here on a quest to make Major League Baseball. So it puzzled — and agitated — Cook that his team performed like they were going through the motions, instead of playing as if there’s someone hungrier behind them ready to take their spot.
The message clearly hasn’t sunk in yet. In the ninth inning Saturday, with the Anglers down five runs to Bourne, Cook said the message was to take until a strike against Braves’ reliever Jonathan Stevens. The A’s leadoff hitter, Cole Johnson (Austin Peay), swung and missed at a 1-0 pitch.
Chatham promptly went down in order to close the game.
“The game is fast for a few of them,” Cook said of his team postgame. “They need to figure out a way to slow it down and quit trying to do too much.”
In its second straight loss, Chatham (2-4-1, East) never found a rhythm against Bourne (2-4-1, West) Saturday at Veterans Field, falling 6-1. Six strikeouts in the first two innings from right-handed starter JT Quinn (Georgia) provided early hope for the home team. Once the A’s fell behind the Braves by two runs after three frames, though, their deficit appeared completely insurmountable. The Anglers’ offense remained lifeless. Quinn allowed four earned runs in 4.0 innings — an amount of damage the A’s couldn’t replicate across nine innings.
“Obviously, you’re not going to win very many ball games when you score one run,” Cook said. “So, we got to find a way to score runs, get baserunners. We are just not squaring the ball up.”
Seven games into the summer, Chatham is still searching for its offensive identity. With slugging star catcher Chase Fralick (Auburn) and a former .316 Cape League hitter in Ashton Larson (LSU) set to arrive within days, the cavalry coming might be what the Anglers need.
Because whatever’s happening right now isn’t working.
Chatham’s .175 team batting average ranks ninth of 10 Cape Cod Baseball League teams. Its .563 OPS ranks ninth. Its strikeout total (82) leads the league. Its RBI count (21) isn’t impressive. The A’s can hang their hat on their pitching statistics — accumulating the third-best team WHIP (1.18) thus far — but other than that, the numbers are bleak.
Bourne entered Veterans Field with a 6.19 team ERA, the worst in the Cape League through six games. But the Anglers followed the same script.
“You come to a point where you get sick and tired of being 0-for-4 every night,” Cook said.
Bourne manager Scott Landers elected to start Texas Tech righty Zane Petty against the A’s. Facing Chatham in his first start of the summer on June 15, Petty allowed one earned run and struck out six across 4.2 innings. On Saturday, he got back right where he left off, retiring the Anglers’ 1-2-3 hitters to match a spotless first inning from Quinn.
Cook said he wants Chatham to improve its situational hitting. The A’s simply aren’t moving enough baserunners, nor driving them in when they’re in scoring position. They faltered in their first shot at answering Cook’s call Saturday, as catcher Noah Miller (Michigan) hit into a 5-3 groundout with ducks on the pond to end the second inning. Petty then sat them down in order in the third.
A one-out double from Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) in the bottom of the fourth led to the A’s third baseman scoring on a Daniel Jackson (Georgia) sacrifice fly. Finally, a proper example of situational hitting. But moments like that occurred too little, too late for the Anglers.
In the two innings prior, Quinn got tattooed by the Braves’ bats, giving up seven hits in the third and fourth frames. A couple of errant throws from the hot corner by Gallaher — though only one was ruled an error — helped Bourne stockpile baserunners in the third inning. RBI singles from Braves’ first baseman Braden Holcomb and third baseman Kade Lewis handed the Anglers a 2-0 third-inning disadvantage — which increased to 4-0 after an RBI sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk by Quinn in the fourth.
A lot of activity on one side, minimal movement on the other.
Jackson’s RBI flyout to deep center field was the only run the A’s tallied. Chatham went hitless across the fifth and sixth frames, the latter of which ended on a Jake Hanley (Indiana) check-swing strikeout with runners on first and second. And to close the seventh, after Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and Ethan Mendoza (Texas) ripped back-to-back singles, Henry Ford (Virginia/transfer) struck out looking — the center fielder’s fourth K of the night.
“We need to have nine guys put in four good at-bats a game, and then see what happens. Right now, we’re just not having good at-bats,” Cook said. “We have to find a way to compete.”
Southpaw bullpen arm Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) originally provided a bright spot for the Anglers, tossing two shutout innings to begin his night. But in the top of the seventh, he allowed a two-run double to Braves catcher Weber Neels, extending the A’s deficit to five. Considering Chatham’s uninspired offense to that point, that was essentially all she wrote.
For Cook, Chatham’s issues at the plate are confusing. The A’s are loaded with a litany of top-tier talent, featuring the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Hanley and a top-100 ranked MLB Draft prospect in Ford, among other collegiate studs. Cook knows they’re primed for a breakout. But there haven’t been many signs for optimism lately — there’s only been concern.
“What needs to happen is, they need to start hitting like they’ve hit everywhere they’ve been,” Cook said. “We got guys that have hit everywhere they’ve been at, multiple .300-plus average guys with power.
“Listen, this is a tough game that separates the men from the boys. So they gotta figure it out.”
