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Duke Stone dominates in Chatham’s 7-2 road win over Yarmouth-Dennis
SOUTH YARMOUTH, Mass. — For all intents and purposes, Duke Stone (Mississippi State) has been nothing but a reliever for a while.
As a junior at Jeff Davis High School (Georgia), Stone was a fixture in the Yellow Jackets’ rotation. But after receiving Tommy John surgery, he was forced to sit out his entire senior year, robbing him of a season’s-worth of potential starts. He recovered in time to join the Bulldogs’ pitching staff this past year, and he even made a start in an intrasquad Mississippi State fall scrimmage.
Yet, he never got the chance to start in a real game. Stone pitched in five games for 4.2 innings in his freshman year at Mississippi State, all out of the bullpen. So far, he’s been pigeonholed into the same role with the A’s, heading into Sunday with nothing but five relief appearances to his name.
In Chatham, however, the lines between the bullpen and the rotation are as blurred as they have ever been. Early rotational fixtures such as JT Quinn (Georgia) and Nate Taylor (Georgia/transfer) are now long gone, forcing Anglers’ manager Dennis Cook to get creative in his efforts to fill starts. His latest maneuver, starting Stone for the first time in years, might be his most daring one yet.
And the gambit worked like a charm. Against Yarmouth-Dennis at Red Wilson Field, Stone dominated in his first chance to be a starter in over two years. The A’s righty pitched five shutout frames in his first start of the summer, notching five strikeouts and limiting the Red Sox to just one hit in Chatham’s (10-11-3, East) 7-2 win over Yarmouth-Dennis (13-9-2, East). His performance set the tone for the Anglers, who thoroughly outhit the Red Sox 13-4 on the day.
“(I was) just going out there and competing like it was the first inning every time,” Stone said. “Just attacking the zone, letting my defense work.”
In the first, neither team needed strikeouts to shut down opposing hitters. Y-D starter Brady Hamilton (Wichita State) induced two flyouts and a groundout to prevent Chatham from reaching base. And Stone induced two groundouts and a flyout to ensure the Red Sox wouldn’t have a runner on board either.
Chatham began to find success in the second, with Roman Martin (UCLA) and Reed Stallman (Mississippi State) leading off with consecutive singles. But Martin erased that momentum immediately, darting for third after getting caught in a pickoff by Hamilton. The gambit took out the Anglers’ first runner in scoring position, handing the A’s their second out of the inning.
“He just got a bad read,” Cook said. “They got to do better, get better reads.”
Fortunately for the Anglers, Stone managed to bring his swing-and-miss stuff into the second frame. After getting Yarmouth-Dennis center fielder Will Gasparino to leadoff with a foul pop out, he got Yomar Carreras swinging and froze Dean Carpentier on a called strike three for his second K of the frame.
Hamilton wasn’t so lucky in his third inning of work. On the first pitch of the frame, Jake Hanley (Indiana) unleashed his first home run of the summer over the center field fence, displaying the power that earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors this past NCAA season.
“I sat him for two games last week, and he was pissed off the second day,” Cook said. “I told him, ‘I’m glad you’re pissed off, because you want to play. That’s good.’”
It was the only run they would score in the frame, but with Stone on the mound, one run seemed like more than enough of a cushion for the Anglers. No matter what they did, the Red Sox just could not touch the Bulldog righty.
Stone started the frame strong by punching out Will Baker in three consecutive pitches, and he quickly followed by inducing two pop outs to Connor Capece and A.J. Nessler. Jack Bell’s third-inning walk — which was aided heavily by a pitch-clock violation — was the first base runner Stone allowed all game.
Even as Chatham’s offense struggled to add on to its slim one-run lead, Stone continued to make Y-D’s deficit feel insurmountable.
In the fourth, he struck out Briseno, forced a Brayden Dowd groundout and got Gasparino to loft a shallow flyout to center, giving Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) just enough time to make a sprinting grab for the A’s third out.
Stone said that the fourth was supposed to be his final inning of work. But since he had managed to dispatch the Red Sox with little difficulty, Cook decided to send him out for a fifth and final frame on the day.
After getting Carreras to leadoff with a flyout, Stone saw his no-hit bid end at the hands of Carpentier, who singled with a fly ball into left. But after getting Baker to flyout for his second out of the frame, he punctuated his stellar performance by punching out Capece — his fifth strikeout of the contest. Cam Johnson picked up his slack with a scoreless sixth frame, bringing Chatham’s bats back up with a chance to finally add some desperately-needed insurance.
When Jackson trotted up to the dish, he was staring at juiced bases, courtesy of three consecutive singles from Hanley, Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) and Larson. His double into left plated Hanley and Gallaher, and Larson came in to score a third run on a Martin fielder’s choice soon after. Jackson ultimately came around to score Chatham’s fifth run of the game on a wild pitch, putting the contest well out of reach for Y-D.
Throughout the season, Isaiah Lane (San Diego) has garnered most of his plaudits for his consistent defensive work in Chatham’s infield. Cook has gone as far as to call him the best defensive shortstop he has coached with the Anglers.
But in the top of the eighth, when Lane tied a bow on the contest by crushing his first home run of the season to center, Cook could only smile as he watched him round the bases. His defensive wizard had finally unlocked the one piece of his game he had been missing all summer: power.
“(Lane’s) a good hitter, his (batting practice) has gotten a whole lot better,” Cook said. “He’s much more focused on what he’s trying to do in BP, working more in the middle.”
His blast gave Chatham a 6-2 advantage, giving Cam Johnson (Oklahoma), Kaden Smith (TCU) and Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) plenty of leeway to secure the A’s 10th win of the season.
Though the real star of the show was Stone.
When it comes to the A’s rotation, Cook doesn’t like to tip his hand very often. It’s hard for him to speak in absolutes, especially as arms continue to stream out of Chatham. But after watching Stone carve Y-D across five shutout innings, even he couldn’t deny that it likely won’t be the righty’s last start with the A’s.
“I mean, I’m sure he’ll start,” Cook said. “He earned (the chance) to start the next game.”
As a junior at Jeff Davis High School (Georgia), Stone was a fixture in the Yellow Jackets’ rotation. But after receiving Tommy John surgery, he was forced to sit out his entire senior year, robbing him of a season’s-worth of potential starts. He recovered in time to join the Bulldogs’ pitching staff this past year, and he even made a start in an intrasquad Mississippi State fall scrimmage.
Yet, he never got the chance to start in a real game. Stone pitched in five games for 4.2 innings in his freshman year at Mississippi State, all out of the bullpen. So far, he’s been pigeonholed into the same role with the A’s, heading into Sunday with nothing but five relief appearances to his name.
In Chatham, however, the lines between the bullpen and the rotation are as blurred as they have ever been. Early rotational fixtures such as JT Quinn (Georgia) and Nate Taylor (Georgia/transfer) are now long gone, forcing Anglers’ manager Dennis Cook to get creative in his efforts to fill starts. His latest maneuver, starting Stone for the first time in years, might be his most daring one yet.
And the gambit worked like a charm. Against Yarmouth-Dennis at Red Wilson Field, Stone dominated in his first chance to be a starter in over two years. The A’s righty pitched five shutout frames in his first start of the summer, notching five strikeouts and limiting the Red Sox to just one hit in Chatham’s (10-11-3, East) 7-2 win over Yarmouth-Dennis (13-9-2, East). His performance set the tone for the Anglers, who thoroughly outhit the Red Sox 13-4 on the day.
“(I was) just going out there and competing like it was the first inning every time,” Stone said. “Just attacking the zone, letting my defense work.”
In the first, neither team needed strikeouts to shut down opposing hitters. Y-D starter Brady Hamilton (Wichita State) induced two flyouts and a groundout to prevent Chatham from reaching base. And Stone induced two groundouts and a flyout to ensure the Red Sox wouldn’t have a runner on board either.
Chatham began to find success in the second, with Roman Martin (UCLA) and Reed Stallman (Mississippi State) leading off with consecutive singles. But Martin erased that momentum immediately, darting for third after getting caught in a pickoff by Hamilton. The gambit took out the Anglers’ first runner in scoring position, handing the A’s their second out of the inning.
“He just got a bad read,” Cook said. “They got to do better, get better reads.”
Fortunately for the Anglers, Stone managed to bring his swing-and-miss stuff into the second frame. After getting Yarmouth-Dennis center fielder Will Gasparino to leadoff with a foul pop out, he got Yomar Carreras swinging and froze Dean Carpentier on a called strike three for his second K of the frame.
Hamilton wasn’t so lucky in his third inning of work. On the first pitch of the frame, Jake Hanley (Indiana) unleashed his first home run of the summer over the center field fence, displaying the power that earned him Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors this past NCAA season.
“I sat him for two games last week, and he was pissed off the second day,” Cook said. “I told him, ‘I’m glad you’re pissed off, because you want to play. That’s good.’”
It was the only run they would score in the frame, but with Stone on the mound, one run seemed like more than enough of a cushion for the Anglers. No matter what they did, the Red Sox just could not touch the Bulldog righty.
Stone started the frame strong by punching out Will Baker in three consecutive pitches, and he quickly followed by inducing two pop outs to Connor Capece and A.J. Nessler. Jack Bell’s third-inning walk — which was aided heavily by a pitch-clock violation — was the first base runner Stone allowed all game.
Even as Chatham’s offense struggled to add on to its slim one-run lead, Stone continued to make Y-D’s deficit feel insurmountable.
In the fourth, he struck out Briseno, forced a Brayden Dowd groundout and got Gasparino to loft a shallow flyout to center, giving Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) just enough time to make a sprinting grab for the A’s third out.
Stone said that the fourth was supposed to be his final inning of work. But since he had managed to dispatch the Red Sox with little difficulty, Cook decided to send him out for a fifth and final frame on the day.
After getting Carreras to leadoff with a flyout, Stone saw his no-hit bid end at the hands of Carpentier, who singled with a fly ball into left. But after getting Baker to flyout for his second out of the frame, he punctuated his stellar performance by punching out Capece — his fifth strikeout of the contest. Cam Johnson picked up his slack with a scoreless sixth frame, bringing Chatham’s bats back up with a chance to finally add some desperately-needed insurance.
When Jackson trotted up to the dish, he was staring at juiced bases, courtesy of three consecutive singles from Hanley, Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) and Larson. His double into left plated Hanley and Gallaher, and Larson came in to score a third run on a Martin fielder’s choice soon after. Jackson ultimately came around to score Chatham’s fifth run of the game on a wild pitch, putting the contest well out of reach for Y-D.
Throughout the season, Isaiah Lane (San Diego) has garnered most of his plaudits for his consistent defensive work in Chatham’s infield. Cook has gone as far as to call him the best defensive shortstop he has coached with the Anglers.
But in the top of the eighth, when Lane tied a bow on the contest by crushing his first home run of the season to center, Cook could only smile as he watched him round the bases. His defensive wizard had finally unlocked the one piece of his game he had been missing all summer: power.
“(Lane’s) a good hitter, his (batting practice) has gotten a whole lot better,” Cook said. “He’s much more focused on what he’s trying to do in BP, working more in the middle.”
His blast gave Chatham a 6-2 advantage, giving Cam Johnson (Oklahoma), Kaden Smith (TCU) and Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma) plenty of leeway to secure the A’s 10th win of the season.
Though the real star of the show was Stone.
When it comes to the A’s rotation, Cook doesn’t like to tip his hand very often. It’s hard for him to speak in absolutes, especially as arms continue to stream out of Chatham. But after watching Stone carve Y-D across five shutout innings, even he couldn’t deny that it likely won’t be the righty’s last start with the A’s.
“I mean, I’m sure he’ll start,” Cook said. “He earned (the chance) to start the next game.”
