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Early barrage propels Anglers to 9-2 road triumph over Braves
BOURNE, Mass. — When kids gather all their friends in the neighborhood together for a game of wiffle ball, there usually aren’t enough bodies to start a nine-on-nine ballgame. But there are always a few red-hot, blue-sky summer days when everyone in town yearns to play. On those special occasions, you can ditch plastic bats and balls and bring out the white leather spheres that the big leaguers use. What ensues is a lighthearted contest where children emulate their dreams on the diamond: a future ballplayer’s quintessential summer day.
On Friday, the Anglers embodied a rag-tag team of kids trying to get a game in before sunset. Chatham only carried nine position players heading into Bourne’s Doran Park — not a single reserve with extensive experience hitting against Division I arms.
A kid stepping on the dirt would relish an opportunity to play without anyone waiting behind them to take their spot. So, why wouldn’t the A’s?
They played as loose as they have all year, and the results showed.
Chatham (3-5-3, East) ended a five-game winless streak by trouncing Bourne (4-6-1, West) 9-2 Friday at Doran Park. The Anglers faced Braves’ starting pitcher Zane Petty for the third time this young summer, and after two difficult games against the Texas Tech righty, they finally made him pay. Chatham blitzed Petty for four runs across the opening two innings, a foundation that allowed it to coast behind the arms of Luke Jackson (Texas A&M/transfer) and Dane Burns (Mississippi State) — who combined to toss 10 strikeouts in 7.1 frames.
“Anytime you can score early, it makes everybody’s job easier,” A’s first-year manager Dennis Cook said postgame. “Pitchers can be more aggressive, and the hitters can relax a little bit more.”
While Chatham got off to a rough start offensively, Cook repeatedly called for more intelligent at-bats and for his players to trust their abilities at the plate. He felt they were overthinking their approach, rather than relying on the gifts that have propelled them to high-level D-I programs and, currently, the Cape Cod Baseball League.
A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas) said it simply takes time to get acclimated to Cape League pitching, no matter the player’s situation.
“A lot of people haven’t been playing for a couple weeks and maybe some months,” Mendoza said. “Coming out here, it’s a little hard to get used to it. It takes a little bit of time.
“But I think we’re coming together as a team and as an offense.”
The Anglers’ last two games served as a prelude to their offensive awakening, as late-inning home runs by Ace Reese (Mississippi State) and Henry Ford (Tennessee) clinched shocking comebacks that salvaged ties against Harwich and Cotuit. Their latest dominant display at the dish resulted in a win, a much-needed outcome for a team that’s only a few plays away from being at or above .500.
Chatham’s numbers over the last three games are gaudy. Going 1-0-2 against Harwich, Cotuit and Bourne, the Anglers ignited for 22 runs, 32 total hits and three home runs — by far their best stretch of 2025. Even after losing an impact bat in Reese, whose exit from the Cape caused Chatham’s shorthanded roster Friday, the A’s offense is rolling with a feverish pace.
“It’s hard to score when no one gets on base,” Mendoza, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI against Bourne, said of Chatham’s prior struggles. “(Now) we’re moving guys over, playing great baseball and that’s probably why we’re getting some success.”
It helped that the Anglers faced Petty — who K’d 12 batters in 10.1 prior innings against Chatham this year — again. Entering Friday, the A’s hadn’t adjusted to his stuff quite yet. Bourne’s starter did not continue his dominance versus Chatham, though. Instead, he saw a steep regression.
Two frames of four-run, four-walk ball later, and Petty was out of the game. Patient at-bats with aggressive cuts at Petty’s fastball proved to be an exquisite strategy for the Anglers. Mendoza said jumping on the fastball was key to his own success, which carried over to the rest of the lineup.
In the first inning, third baseman Gavin Gallaher (UNC) belted a single up the middle and later scored off an RBI knock from first baseman Chase Fralick (Auburn). Noah Miller (Michigan) and Gallaher then drew walks to begin the top of the second, and were quickly ushered home by third-base coach Brett Doe after Mendoza pummeled a double into left.
Chase Fralick celebrates in the Anglers' dugout after scoring a run in the top of the seventh inning. Photograph by Ella Tovey
Mendoza’s two-RBI knock, and a subsequent job home following an errant throw by Bourne catcher Jimmy Keenan, helped Chatham craft a 4-0 lead through two frames.
The first run Luke Jackson gave up — an RBI sacrifice fly to the Braves’ Kade Lewis in the third inning — would have been a cause for concern with the Anglers’ struggling bats of a few days ago. But with a revamped offense, Jackson possessed a pristine luxury: room for error. And he used it to his advantage.
The right-hander escaped a jam in the fourth to cap off a one-run, four-strikeout performance in his second start of the summer. In his A’s debut on June 19 against Cotuit, Jackson allowed four bases on balls. He only issued one walk Friday, displaying the steady but significant strides that Cook wants his players to take.
“That’s his battle,” Cook said of Jackson. “When he doesn’t walk people, he has a chance.”
Chatham ran into trouble against Bourne right-handed reliever Nate Whysong, not plating any runs from the third through the sixth frame. But with the Braves attempting to claw back from a three-run deficit, the Anglers’ bullpen smelled blood in the water.
Burns (3.1 innings, six strikeouts, one run) mowed down Bourne’s lineup, setting up the Anglers’ bats to provide some insurance. They did, courtesy of a three-run seventh inning where a two-RBI double from Jake Hanley (Indiana) served as the dagger. Mendoza and Hanley each tallied an additional RBI to bring their combined total to six for the game.
Amid Chatham’s earlier problems at the plate, Cook didn’t have many words to sum up his team’s struggles. He often invoked the phrase, “I don’t know,” explaining that his players have hit well at every level they’ve ever been before, so why can’t they do the same on the Cape?
Cook said after Chatham’s June 21 loss to Bourne that baseball is a game that separates boys from men, alluding to how the A’s needed to pull together to rid their scoring rut.
Over the last three games, Cook’s kids grew into adults in front of his very eyes.
“Well, we hadn’t scored a lot of runs, so I think when guys come up (to hit) with people in scoring position, they press a little bit, because they want to do good,” Cook said. “But at the end of the day, the less you try, the better you are.”
On Friday, the Anglers embodied a rag-tag team of kids trying to get a game in before sunset. Chatham only carried nine position players heading into Bourne’s Doran Park — not a single reserve with extensive experience hitting against Division I arms.
A kid stepping on the dirt would relish an opportunity to play without anyone waiting behind them to take their spot. So, why wouldn’t the A’s?
They played as loose as they have all year, and the results showed.
Chatham (3-5-3, East) ended a five-game winless streak by trouncing Bourne (4-6-1, West) 9-2 Friday at Doran Park. The Anglers faced Braves’ starting pitcher Zane Petty for the third time this young summer, and after two difficult games against the Texas Tech righty, they finally made him pay. Chatham blitzed Petty for four runs across the opening two innings, a foundation that allowed it to coast behind the arms of Luke Jackson (Texas A&M/transfer) and Dane Burns (Mississippi State) — who combined to toss 10 strikeouts in 7.1 frames.
“Anytime you can score early, it makes everybody’s job easier,” A’s first-year manager Dennis Cook said postgame. “Pitchers can be more aggressive, and the hitters can relax a little bit more.”
While Chatham got off to a rough start offensively, Cook repeatedly called for more intelligent at-bats and for his players to trust their abilities at the plate. He felt they were overthinking their approach, rather than relying on the gifts that have propelled them to high-level D-I programs and, currently, the Cape Cod Baseball League.
A’s second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas) said it simply takes time to get acclimated to Cape League pitching, no matter the player’s situation.
“A lot of people haven’t been playing for a couple weeks and maybe some months,” Mendoza said. “Coming out here, it’s a little hard to get used to it. It takes a little bit of time.
“But I think we’re coming together as a team and as an offense.”
The Anglers’ last two games served as a prelude to their offensive awakening, as late-inning home runs by Ace Reese (Mississippi State) and Henry Ford (Tennessee) clinched shocking comebacks that salvaged ties against Harwich and Cotuit. Their latest dominant display at the dish resulted in a win, a much-needed outcome for a team that’s only a few plays away from being at or above .500.
Chatham’s numbers over the last three games are gaudy. Going 1-0-2 against Harwich, Cotuit and Bourne, the Anglers ignited for 22 runs, 32 total hits and three home runs — by far their best stretch of 2025. Even after losing an impact bat in Reese, whose exit from the Cape caused Chatham’s shorthanded roster Friday, the A’s offense is rolling with a feverish pace.
“It’s hard to score when no one gets on base,” Mendoza, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI against Bourne, said of Chatham’s prior struggles. “(Now) we’re moving guys over, playing great baseball and that’s probably why we’re getting some success.”
It helped that the Anglers faced Petty — who K’d 12 batters in 10.1 prior innings against Chatham this year — again. Entering Friday, the A’s hadn’t adjusted to his stuff quite yet. Bourne’s starter did not continue his dominance versus Chatham, though. Instead, he saw a steep regression.
Two frames of four-run, four-walk ball later, and Petty was out of the game. Patient at-bats with aggressive cuts at Petty’s fastball proved to be an exquisite strategy for the Anglers. Mendoza said jumping on the fastball was key to his own success, which carried over to the rest of the lineup.
In the first inning, third baseman Gavin Gallaher (UNC) belted a single up the middle and later scored off an RBI knock from first baseman Chase Fralick (Auburn). Noah Miller (Michigan) and Gallaher then drew walks to begin the top of the second, and were quickly ushered home by third-base coach Brett Doe after Mendoza pummeled a double into left.
Chase Fralick celebrates in the Anglers' dugout after scoring a run in the top of the seventh inning. Photograph by Ella Tovey
Mendoza’s two-RBI knock, and a subsequent job home following an errant throw by Bourne catcher Jimmy Keenan, helped Chatham craft a 4-0 lead through two frames.
The first run Luke Jackson gave up — an RBI sacrifice fly to the Braves’ Kade Lewis in the third inning — would have been a cause for concern with the Anglers’ struggling bats of a few days ago. But with a revamped offense, Jackson possessed a pristine luxury: room for error. And he used it to his advantage.
The right-hander escaped a jam in the fourth to cap off a one-run, four-strikeout performance in his second start of the summer. In his A’s debut on June 19 against Cotuit, Jackson allowed four bases on balls. He only issued one walk Friday, displaying the steady but significant strides that Cook wants his players to take.
“That’s his battle,” Cook said of Jackson. “When he doesn’t walk people, he has a chance.”
Chatham ran into trouble against Bourne right-handed reliever Nate Whysong, not plating any runs from the third through the sixth frame. But with the Braves attempting to claw back from a three-run deficit, the Anglers’ bullpen smelled blood in the water.
Burns (3.1 innings, six strikeouts, one run) mowed down Bourne’s lineup, setting up the Anglers’ bats to provide some insurance. They did, courtesy of a three-run seventh inning where a two-RBI double from Jake Hanley (Indiana) served as the dagger. Mendoza and Hanley each tallied an additional RBI to bring their combined total to six for the game.
Amid Chatham’s earlier problems at the plate, Cook didn’t have many words to sum up his team’s struggles. He often invoked the phrase, “I don’t know,” explaining that his players have hit well at every level they’ve ever been before, so why can’t they do the same on the Cape?
Cook said after Chatham’s June 21 loss to Bourne that baseball is a game that separates boys from men, alluding to how the A’s needed to pull together to rid their scoring rut.
Over the last three games, Cook’s kids grew into adults in front of his very eyes.
“Well, we hadn’t scored a lot of runs, so I think when guys come up (to hit) with people in scoring position, they press a little bit, because they want to do good,” Cook said. “But at the end of the day, the less you try, the better you are.”
