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Chatham ties Cotuit 6-6 after more late-inning fireworks
COTUIT, Mass. — In the bottom of the ninth against Cotuit, Anglers righty Nate Taylor (Georgia) was in a world of trouble. The Kettleers were firmly in the driver’s seat, and with the game tied at 6-6, Taylor was Chatham’s last line of defense.
Cotuit right fielder Nolan Stevens led off the ninth with a walk, and Anderson French did the same to put runners on first and second. After Camden Johnson laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to third, Taylor suddenly had runners on second and third with just one out. The Anglers had no double play opportunity, and with Rintaro Sasaki due up for Cotuit, it was difficult to imagine a situation where the Kettleers didn’t walk it off.
Sasaki entered the game as one of the most decorated hitters in the history of Japanese high school baseball, having broken home run records set by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Just two innings prior, he demolished his first Kettleers home run into right off Taylor. If there was ever a textbook scenario for an intentional walk, this would’ve been it.
But the thought never even entered Anglers manager Dennis Cook’s mind.
“We knew if (Taylor) threw the fastball up, he could beat him,” Cook said.
He did just that. After striking out Sasaki and Case Sanderson, Taylor forced extra-innings for the Anglers, and Chatham (2-5-3, East) somehow managed to escape Lowell Park with a 6-6 tie against Cotuit (2-7-1, West) despite never leading at any point Wednesday. Though their winless streak grew to five games, the Anglers’ offense ignited again, scoring at least six runs and double digit hits for the second consecutive game.
“We’re having a lot better at-bats, and we’re squaring a lot more balls up,” Cook said.
Yet, the A’s weren’t firing on all cylinders out of the gate. After snagging a web gem to hold Chatham scoreless in top of the first, Cotuit second baseman Jarren Advincula continued to torment the Anglers. Facing Mason Peters (Dallas Baptist), he led off the frame by dropping a line drive single into left. On Andrew Wiggins’ subsequent sacrifice bunt, he took advantage of Chatham’s defensive alignment, advancing all the way to third on the play.
Ryne Farber followed by slapping a groundout to A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas), driving in Advincula to give Cotuit a one-run lead in the blink of an eye.
“We got to be smart enough to get back and cover the bag,” Cook said. “They’re learning as we go, and we won’t make the mistake again.”
The game didn’t get much easier for Peters. Cotuit third baseman Johnson led off the bottom of the second with a double into left. With Peters facing Sasaki, Johnson got off to an aggressive lead at second. Lane darted over to cover the bag, and Peters reacted by twitching, moving Johnson to third on a balk. With Johnson now standing just 90 feet away from home, Sasaki’s groundout was all Cotuit needed to tack on a second run.
Suddenly facing a two-run deficit, the Anglers desperately needed a response. They started to cobble one together in the top of the third.
Making his return to the lineup after two games on the bench, Jake Hanley (Indiana) set the table for the A’s with a single. Henry Ford (Tennessee) followed by lining another single into center, giving Chatham runners on first and second with zero outs. Two outs later, it appeared Chatham would waste another prime scoring opportunity. But just as he did against Harwich Tuesday, Ace Reese (Mississippi State) delivered a timely two-out hit, making it a 2-1 ballgame.
A few innings later, Cotuit’s bats roared back to life. Facing Connor Marshburn (UNC Wilmington) in the bottom of the fifth, Wiggins led off by lining a single into right. After singles from Stevens and French, the Kettleers were up 4-1 by the time the fifth was over.
Chatham’s hitters continued to get decent swings off, but every batted ball was somehow finding a mitt. In an otherwise unremarkable top of the sixth, Reese belted a deep one-out fly ball to left. It was almost assuredly an extra-base hit, but Wiggins miraculously traversed dozens of feet to make a sliding grab.
When they swung the bats, there was almost nothing the A’s could do. But maybe not swinging was the answer all along.
Daniel Jackson followed Reese’s flyout with a two-out walk. Three walks later, and he was trotting across home for Chatham’s second run of the game. With the bases loaded, Hanley legged out an infield single to cut the deficit to one.
“I thought (Hanley) had wonderful at-bats,” Cook said. “He just needed to get away from it for a couple days.”
Though another web gem ended the top of the sixth, the Anglers weren’t done rallying. The following inning, Reese came up to the plate with the bases empty. Facing Cotuit righty Charlie Walker, Reese demolished his offering for a no-doubt homer into right, tying it at 4-4.
Unfortunately for Chatham, Sasaki matched him in the bottom of the seventh. Having entered the game with just one hit, it was only a matter of time before he ignited for his first homer. It just happened to be that his victim was Taylor. Sasaki crushed a poorly-placed changeup, and all Freeman could do was watch as his blast sailed over the right-field fence, making it 6-4 Cotuit.
By the time the game had reached the ninth, it had devolved into a full home run derby. Hanley led off the top of the ninth with a walk, bringing up Ford as the game’s tying run. He turned on the first pitch he saw from Cotuit righty Wyatt Halvorson, knotting the game up at 6-6. After both teams failed to score in the 10th, the A’s earned their second straight tie.
“I think we’re getting better every game, and putting together better at-bats,” Ford said.
Chatham may not have won. But unlike their previous ties to Hyannis and Harwich, it was unmistakably a positive result for the Anglers.
In its three-game losing streak, Chatham was plagued by ineffective offense, lackluster defensive fundamentals and subpar pitching. Cook had multiple postgame meetings during that stretch, where he lambasted the A’s for their uninspired efforts.
At Lowell Park, Cook held another postgame meeting. But as he addressed the team near the first base dugout, he seemed noticeably happier. For the second straight game, the Anglers gave him something to build upon. And that’s really all he could ask for.
“That’s what I tell them every time,” Cook said. “I say, ‘You just keep building on that, and we’re going to be dangerous.’”
Cotuit right fielder Nolan Stevens led off the ninth with a walk, and Anderson French did the same to put runners on first and second. After Camden Johnson laid down a textbook sacrifice bunt to third, Taylor suddenly had runners on second and third with just one out. The Anglers had no double play opportunity, and with Rintaro Sasaki due up for Cotuit, it was difficult to imagine a situation where the Kettleers didn’t walk it off.
Sasaki entered the game as one of the most decorated hitters in the history of Japanese high school baseball, having broken home run records set by Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. Just two innings prior, he demolished his first Kettleers home run into right off Taylor. If there was ever a textbook scenario for an intentional walk, this would’ve been it.
But the thought never even entered Anglers manager Dennis Cook’s mind.
“We knew if (Taylor) threw the fastball up, he could beat him,” Cook said.
He did just that. After striking out Sasaki and Case Sanderson, Taylor forced extra-innings for the Anglers, and Chatham (2-5-3, East) somehow managed to escape Lowell Park with a 6-6 tie against Cotuit (2-7-1, West) despite never leading at any point Wednesday. Though their winless streak grew to five games, the Anglers’ offense ignited again, scoring at least six runs and double digit hits for the second consecutive game.
“We’re having a lot better at-bats, and we’re squaring a lot more balls up,” Cook said.
Yet, the A’s weren’t firing on all cylinders out of the gate. After snagging a web gem to hold Chatham scoreless in top of the first, Cotuit second baseman Jarren Advincula continued to torment the Anglers. Facing Mason Peters (Dallas Baptist), he led off the frame by dropping a line drive single into left. On Andrew Wiggins’ subsequent sacrifice bunt, he took advantage of Chatham’s defensive alignment, advancing all the way to third on the play.
Ryne Farber followed by slapping a groundout to A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas), driving in Advincula to give Cotuit a one-run lead in the blink of an eye.
“We got to be smart enough to get back and cover the bag,” Cook said. “They’re learning as we go, and we won’t make the mistake again.”
The game didn’t get much easier for Peters. Cotuit third baseman Johnson led off the bottom of the second with a double into left. With Peters facing Sasaki, Johnson got off to an aggressive lead at second. Lane darted over to cover the bag, and Peters reacted by twitching, moving Johnson to third on a balk. With Johnson now standing just 90 feet away from home, Sasaki’s groundout was all Cotuit needed to tack on a second run.
Suddenly facing a two-run deficit, the Anglers desperately needed a response. They started to cobble one together in the top of the third.
Making his return to the lineup after two games on the bench, Jake Hanley (Indiana) set the table for the A’s with a single. Henry Ford (Tennessee) followed by lining another single into center, giving Chatham runners on first and second with zero outs. Two outs later, it appeared Chatham would waste another prime scoring opportunity. But just as he did against Harwich Tuesday, Ace Reese (Mississippi State) delivered a timely two-out hit, making it a 2-1 ballgame.
A few innings later, Cotuit’s bats roared back to life. Facing Connor Marshburn (UNC Wilmington) in the bottom of the fifth, Wiggins led off by lining a single into right. After singles from Stevens and French, the Kettleers were up 4-1 by the time the fifth was over.
Chatham’s hitters continued to get decent swings off, but every batted ball was somehow finding a mitt. In an otherwise unremarkable top of the sixth, Reese belted a deep one-out fly ball to left. It was almost assuredly an extra-base hit, but Wiggins miraculously traversed dozens of feet to make a sliding grab.
When they swung the bats, there was almost nothing the A’s could do. But maybe not swinging was the answer all along.
Daniel Jackson followed Reese’s flyout with a two-out walk. Three walks later, and he was trotting across home for Chatham’s second run of the game. With the bases loaded, Hanley legged out an infield single to cut the deficit to one.
“I thought (Hanley) had wonderful at-bats,” Cook said. “He just needed to get away from it for a couple days.”
Though another web gem ended the top of the sixth, the Anglers weren’t done rallying. The following inning, Reese came up to the plate with the bases empty. Facing Cotuit righty Charlie Walker, Reese demolished his offering for a no-doubt homer into right, tying it at 4-4.
Unfortunately for Chatham, Sasaki matched him in the bottom of the seventh. Having entered the game with just one hit, it was only a matter of time before he ignited for his first homer. It just happened to be that his victim was Taylor. Sasaki crushed a poorly-placed changeup, and all Freeman could do was watch as his blast sailed over the right-field fence, making it 6-4 Cotuit.
By the time the game had reached the ninth, it had devolved into a full home run derby. Hanley led off the top of the ninth with a walk, bringing up Ford as the game’s tying run. He turned on the first pitch he saw from Cotuit righty Wyatt Halvorson, knotting the game up at 6-6. After both teams failed to score in the 10th, the A’s earned their second straight tie.
“I think we’re getting better every game, and putting together better at-bats,” Ford said.
Chatham may not have won. But unlike their previous ties to Hyannis and Harwich, it was unmistakably a positive result for the Anglers.
In its three-game losing streak, Chatham was plagued by ineffective offense, lackluster defensive fundamentals and subpar pitching. Cook had multiple postgame meetings during that stretch, where he lambasted the A’s for their uninspired efforts.
At Lowell Park, Cook held another postgame meeting. But as he addressed the team near the first base dugout, he seemed noticeably happier. For the second straight game, the Anglers gave him something to build upon. And that’s really all he could ask for.
“That’s what I tell them every time,” Cook said. “I say, ‘You just keep building on that, and we’re going to be dangerous.’”
