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Chatham beats Brewster 10-6, now ranks as CCBL's highest-scoring offense
BREWSTER, Mass. — Isaiah Lane is the best defensive shortstop Dennis Cook has coached across his five seasons in Chatham. He made the bold proclamation Wednesday amid his first year as the A’s manager, crediting his smooth hands and range to snare every ball hit his way.
Cook uses runs to help determine a player’s performance. In his eyes, if you save three runs in the field but falter once with runners in scoring position, you’re plus-two on the day. If you make two errors yet drive in a run, you’re minus-one.
Cook says Lane’s (San Diego) defense helps compensate for the runs he doesn’t drive in. But, from the ninth spot in the batting order on Wednesday, Lane wasn’t just shoved to the back of the order because of his glove — he was a beacon of offense. Lane went 2-for-4 with three RBI in his most productive game this summer.
Lane’s numbers are emblematic of the current state of the Anglers’ offense: everybody rakes.
They propelled themselves to the Cape League’s highest-scoring offense Wednesday via a first-inning run-scoring carousel initiated by star center fielder Henry Ford (Tennessee). On the second pitch of the game from Brewster righty Alex Philpott, Ford drilled a moonshot that scraped the peaks of the 40-foot trees overhanging the Whitecaps’ outfield.
Ford’s leadoff homer set the tone. Six Angler runs later, there was no longer an audible tone you could hear at Stony Brook Field; the game was already over.
“I just really thought it would only be a matter of time,” Cook said of Chatham getting past its early problems at the plate. “We brought in a lot of good, good players. And these guys can play.”
Chatham (6-6-3, East) downed Brewster (9-6, East) 10-6 Wednesday behind a seven-run top of the first inning. A frame that began with Ford’s blast ended with the center fielder belting a two-run single up the gut. He finished the day 2-for-4 at the dish with three RBI, a performance reflective of the way the A’s are swinging their bats right now. They tallied their third straight game with double-digit hits, belting a season-high 13 a day after setting their previous best (12).
The Anglers were hitting the ball so well that they extended the game for too long. With no lights at Stony Brook Field, the game was ruled final after seven innings due to severe darkness.
With a league-best 35 runs in its previous seven days, it was clear the A’s had rid themselves of their hitting struggles coming into Wednesday. Their offense ranked near the bottom in nearly every statistical category through the first eight games of 2025. Now, there is no CCBL offense that holds a candle to Chatham’s.
“It’s a tough game and it’s a tough league,” Ford said. “You know you got to make adjustments.”
Fifteen games in, the Anglers boast the most runs (78) and runs batted in (72) of any team on the Cape. In the last five games, Chatham’s .336 batting average leads the league by a country mile. It’s also won four of its last five contests — the team’s best run of the year.
The Anglers may sit in third place in the East Division, but their recent torrid stretch suggests the best is yet to come. With three players sitting at or around a .900 OPS — Ford, Daniel Jackson (Georgia) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) — and all but two currently-rostered players averaging at least a .200 batting average, Chatham possesses the star-power and depth necessary to sustain its unabating offense.
And there’s few signs that’ll change anytime soon.
“We’re dangerous one-through-nine,” Ford said of the Anglers’ batting order. “That just says a lot about the type of players that we have and the type of people that they are. They’re hard workers, they’re good competitors and they make great adjustments.”
Philpott, the Whitecaps’ starting pitcher, entered Wednesday with a 0.00 earned run average in 6.2 innings of relief work. In his first start of the season, though, he couldn’t even escape the first inning. Two outs were all Philpott could muster before being pulled for right-hander Lance Davis, as the Anglers tattooed him for a six-hit, seven-run frame.
Apart from Ford’s first-inning production, Jackson smoked a two-run double to left and shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) drove in a pair by dropping a bloop single in shallow right. Soft contact, hard contact; it didn’t matter. The A’s bats found every patch of grass at Stony Brook Field to begin the game.
Cook preaches his players to play loose and let their talent exude naturally, instead of forcing it. It’s clear they were plenty loose Wednesday.
Ethan Mendoza and Gavin Gallaher celebrate as they cross the plate together in the first inning of Chatham's win over Brewster. Photograph by Ella Tovey
In the first inning, as Jackson’s two-RBI double banged off the left-field wall, Ethan Mendoza (Texas) trailed just behind Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) as the pair jogged down the third-base line. Mendoza had caught up to Gallaher, since the latter was previously reading the ball’s flight while standing at third base. Once Gallaher saw Mendoza was in line with him, the two giggled as they trotted toward home — a baserunning anomaly only made possible by a juggernaut offense.
Cook gives full credit to his players for how they’ve turned a new leaf on offense. He enjoyed the fun-loving mentality the A’s exhibited Wednesday, a feeling Cook thinks is deserved for this group.
“It’s all attributed to the kids,” Cook said of Chatham’s recent success. “We brought in some good players just like everybody else did. And right now, our good players are playing good.”
There seemingly wasn’t much left for the Anglers to accomplish after the first. Especially considering the cushion provided by starting pitcher Tate Carey (Michigan), who tossed 4.0 innings of two-run ball with only three hits allowed. The A’s weren’t done, though. They poured on a run in both the third and fourth frames, courtesy of RBI base knocks from Lane and designated hitter Chase Fralick (Auburn).
Things got a little dicey — the Whitecaps unleashed four runs across the fifth and sixth frames against Anglers right-hander Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) — but a seventh-inning RBI groundout from catcher Noah Miller (Michigan) wrapped up the inevitable result.
A palpable energy flowed from the Anglers’ dugout Wednesday. Smiles were contagious. Celebrations were constant. Morale was sky high. After all, jubilation always ensues when wood smacks leather and yarn. And Chatham is doing that better than anyone right now.
“It’s sweet, it’s awesome,” Ford said of the Anglers ranking first in the CCBL in runs per game (5.2). “We’re putting a lot of work into making good adjustments, so it’s good that we’re getting the results.”
Cook uses runs to help determine a player’s performance. In his eyes, if you save three runs in the field but falter once with runners in scoring position, you’re plus-two on the day. If you make two errors yet drive in a run, you’re minus-one.
Cook says Lane’s (San Diego) defense helps compensate for the runs he doesn’t drive in. But, from the ninth spot in the batting order on Wednesday, Lane wasn’t just shoved to the back of the order because of his glove — he was a beacon of offense. Lane went 2-for-4 with three RBI in his most productive game this summer.
Lane’s numbers are emblematic of the current state of the Anglers’ offense: everybody rakes.
They propelled themselves to the Cape League’s highest-scoring offense Wednesday via a first-inning run-scoring carousel initiated by star center fielder Henry Ford (Tennessee). On the second pitch of the game from Brewster righty Alex Philpott, Ford drilled a moonshot that scraped the peaks of the 40-foot trees overhanging the Whitecaps’ outfield.
Ford’s leadoff homer set the tone. Six Angler runs later, there was no longer an audible tone you could hear at Stony Brook Field; the game was already over.
“I just really thought it would only be a matter of time,” Cook said of Chatham getting past its early problems at the plate. “We brought in a lot of good, good players. And these guys can play.”
Chatham (6-6-3, East) downed Brewster (9-6, East) 10-6 Wednesday behind a seven-run top of the first inning. A frame that began with Ford’s blast ended with the center fielder belting a two-run single up the gut. He finished the day 2-for-4 at the dish with three RBI, a performance reflective of the way the A’s are swinging their bats right now. They tallied their third straight game with double-digit hits, belting a season-high 13 a day after setting their previous best (12).
The Anglers were hitting the ball so well that they extended the game for too long. With no lights at Stony Brook Field, the game was ruled final after seven innings due to severe darkness.
With a league-best 35 runs in its previous seven days, it was clear the A’s had rid themselves of their hitting struggles coming into Wednesday. Their offense ranked near the bottom in nearly every statistical category through the first eight games of 2025. Now, there is no CCBL offense that holds a candle to Chatham’s.
“It’s a tough game and it’s a tough league,” Ford said. “You know you got to make adjustments.”
Fifteen games in, the Anglers boast the most runs (78) and runs batted in (72) of any team on the Cape. In the last five games, Chatham’s .336 batting average leads the league by a country mile. It’s also won four of its last five contests — the team’s best run of the year.
The Anglers may sit in third place in the East Division, but their recent torrid stretch suggests the best is yet to come. With three players sitting at or around a .900 OPS — Ford, Daniel Jackson (Georgia) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) — and all but two currently-rostered players averaging at least a .200 batting average, Chatham possesses the star-power and depth necessary to sustain its unabating offense.
And there’s few signs that’ll change anytime soon.
“We’re dangerous one-through-nine,” Ford said of the Anglers’ batting order. “That just says a lot about the type of players that we have and the type of people that they are. They’re hard workers, they’re good competitors and they make great adjustments.”
Philpott, the Whitecaps’ starting pitcher, entered Wednesday with a 0.00 earned run average in 6.2 innings of relief work. In his first start of the season, though, he couldn’t even escape the first inning. Two outs were all Philpott could muster before being pulled for right-hander Lance Davis, as the Anglers tattooed him for a six-hit, seven-run frame.
Apart from Ford’s first-inning production, Jackson smoked a two-run double to left and shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) drove in a pair by dropping a bloop single in shallow right. Soft contact, hard contact; it didn’t matter. The A’s bats found every patch of grass at Stony Brook Field to begin the game.
Cook preaches his players to play loose and let their talent exude naturally, instead of forcing it. It’s clear they were plenty loose Wednesday.
Ethan Mendoza and Gavin Gallaher celebrate as they cross the plate together in the first inning of Chatham's win over Brewster. Photograph by Ella Tovey
In the first inning, as Jackson’s two-RBI double banged off the left-field wall, Ethan Mendoza (Texas) trailed just behind Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) as the pair jogged down the third-base line. Mendoza had caught up to Gallaher, since the latter was previously reading the ball’s flight while standing at third base. Once Gallaher saw Mendoza was in line with him, the two giggled as they trotted toward home — a baserunning anomaly only made possible by a juggernaut offense.
Cook gives full credit to his players for how they’ve turned a new leaf on offense. He enjoyed the fun-loving mentality the A’s exhibited Wednesday, a feeling Cook thinks is deserved for this group.
“It’s all attributed to the kids,” Cook said of Chatham’s recent success. “We brought in some good players just like everybody else did. And right now, our good players are playing good.”
There seemingly wasn’t much left for the Anglers to accomplish after the first. Especially considering the cushion provided by starting pitcher Tate Carey (Michigan), who tossed 4.0 innings of two-run ball with only three hits allowed. The A’s weren’t done, though. They poured on a run in both the third and fourth frames, courtesy of RBI base knocks from Lane and designated hitter Chase Fralick (Auburn).
Things got a little dicey — the Whitecaps unleashed four runs across the fifth and sixth frames against Anglers right-hander Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) — but a seventh-inning RBI groundout from catcher Noah Miller (Michigan) wrapped up the inevitable result.
A palpable energy flowed from the Anglers’ dugout Wednesday. Smiles were contagious. Celebrations were constant. Morale was sky high. After all, jubilation always ensues when wood smacks leather and yarn. And Chatham is doing that better than anyone right now.
“It’s sweet, it’s awesome,” Ford said of the Anglers ranking first in the CCBL in runs per game (5.2). “We’re putting a lot of work into making good adjustments, so it’s good that we’re getting the results.”
