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Anglers’ streaky play continues in 8-1 defeat to Harbor Hawks
CHATHAM, Mass. — A high-quality baseball team is one that can string together multiple wins in a row with regularity. It’s not something the Anglers have accomplished much this season, but they were handed a tailormade chance to do so Thursday.
Hyannis entered Veterans Field on a five-game skid, tied for last in the Cape Cod Baseball League with just 23 points on the year. Through July 16, Wareham ranked first in the West with a 13-13 record and 26 points, only one point fewer than Chatham’s 25 — last in the East. In a division stacked with the clubs that own many of the Cape League’s worst records, the Harbor Hawks dwell at the bottom.
The A’s began July by beating Wareham and Brewster in succession. They haven’t embarked on a winning streak since. After defeating Orleans in 10 innings the previous night, forecasts were all clear for the Anglers to secure a second consecutive victory against Hyannis.
But, they remained streaky. This time, on the sour side.
Defensive miscues and struggles at the plate cost Chatham (11-13-3, East) in an 8-1 loss to Hyannis (11-13-3, West). The Anglers are now alone in last place in the East Division. Chatham committed three errors, tallied four hits and managed just six baserunners all night, putting on a forgettable display under the lights at Veterans Field. A five-run fourth inning for the Harbor Hawks proved to be too much for the A’s to retaliate from.
Anglers’ manager Dennis Cook struggled to explain his team’s game-by-game inconsistencies.
“I can’t tell you. I don't know. I don’t know what it is,” Cook said.
It wasn’t hard for Cook to pinpoint their problems against Hyannis, though.
“We swung at a ton of bad pitches,” he said following a night where Chatham suffered 11 strikeouts and stranded five runners on the bases. “We were chasing out of the strike zone way too much.”
When one side hits a crowd-silencing grand slam and receives a masterclass from its starting pitcher, it’s fairly easy to crown a victor. On Thursday, Hyannis made the necessary winning plays and received superior individual excellence — shortstop Jake Schaffner blasted a fourth-inning grand slam and right-handed pitcher Tsubasa Tomii struck out five across 5.0 innings with one run allowed.
Their efforts put the Anglers in an early hole. Trying to climb out of it, A’s slugger Daniel Jackson (Georgia) throttled a solo homer to deep right-center field to cut Chatham’s deficit to 5-1 in the fourth inning.
In hindsight, though, that was much too little, much too late. Especially considering the dire situation unfolding thanks to the Anglers’ pitching. Chatham lefty starter Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) as well as bullpen arms Cam Johnson (Oklahoma) and JJ Glasscock (West Virginia) issued eight total walks to Harbor Hawks’ batters. They also combined for seven wild pitches and hit two batters.
On the field after the game concluded, Cook and Chatham pitching coach Jay Powell held a lengthy meeting with the A’s pitchers. Cook said the topic of discussion was simple: If you don’t throw strikes, enjoy the bench.
“You cannot walk eight people and hit two and expect to pitch for your school,” Cook said. “You just can’t do that. Players win games and players lose games. The ball’s in their hand, and they have to throw strikes. It’s not in my hand. So they got to figure it out.”
Making his first start of the season, Charlie Foster allowed five runs — all unearned — across four innings in Chatham's 8-1 loss to Hyannis Thursday. Photograph by Ella Tovey
It had been a rough go of things for Foster over the past few weeks. The Anglers’ lefty pitcher entered his first-career CCBL start with a 6.59 earned run average across 13.2 innings of work this season. Against the Harbor Hawks, Foster suppressed his inflated ERA, churning through three scoreless innings to begin the contest.
Yet Foster’s every move was exceeded by Hyannis’ Tomii. The 5-foot-7 Pima Community College hurler from Tokyo no-hit the A’s over the opening three frames, racking up four strikeouts and holding Chatham to one baserunner in that span.
It was beginning to look like another guessing game, where one tries to determine which version of the Anglers were present on the field. In Chatham’s first year under Cook, it has often followed juggernaut-esque performances with duds — to the point where it’s eerie.
The A’s were 7-6 in July coming into Thursday. All seven of those wins occurred when Chatham scored at least seven runs. All six losses came when the Anglers finished with two or fewer runs. In that time, they only went on one stretch where they scored seven-plus runs in consecutive games.
They would have needed to do something similar in order to win on Thursday.
Instead, they fell seven runs short.
Hyannis piled five runs on Foster in a rough fourth inning for Chatham. A frame that started with Anglers’ shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) bobbling a routine ground ball ended with Schaffner trotting around the diamond after hammering a two-out grand slam into right.
Though all five runs were unearned, Foster allowed four subsequent baserunners via two singles and two walks and tossed a wild pitch. A few costly mistakes put a damper on what was an otherwise solid appearance from Foster (4.0 innings pitched, four Ks, three hits).
But that’s baseball.
Twenty-four hours prior, the Anglers were putting the finishing touches on their explosive 8-7 win over Orleans, in which they squandered a four-run lead but pulled away in an extra 10th inning. Chatham unleashed a season-best 14 hits against the Firebirds, sparked by a 3-for-6 evening from Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and a 2-for-5, three-RBI line from Chase Fralick (Auburn). At times, the baseball looked like a beach ball; Chatham’s bats could do no wrong.
One night’s sleep later yielded a near-opposite result. The A’s had difficulties hitting the ball out of the infield versus Harbor Hawks’ pitching. Tomii’s dominance was aided by right-handers Chris Diaz and Zach Edwards, who combined for a shutout over the final four innings.
In 2025, the Anglers have taken life’s reality of experiencing highs and lows to a whole new level. It’s like flipping a coin each day. Will Chatham show up as an unstoppable force? Or will it prove itself to be an easily movable object?
At this point, any guess would suffice.
“I mean, it’s up to (the players) to compete,” Cook said. “We can tell them to compete until we’re blue in the face. If they’re not going to compete, they’re not going to compete.”
Hyannis entered Veterans Field on a five-game skid, tied for last in the Cape Cod Baseball League with just 23 points on the year. Through July 16, Wareham ranked first in the West with a 13-13 record and 26 points, only one point fewer than Chatham’s 25 — last in the East. In a division stacked with the clubs that own many of the Cape League’s worst records, the Harbor Hawks dwell at the bottom.
The A’s began July by beating Wareham and Brewster in succession. They haven’t embarked on a winning streak since. After defeating Orleans in 10 innings the previous night, forecasts were all clear for the Anglers to secure a second consecutive victory against Hyannis.
But, they remained streaky. This time, on the sour side.
Defensive miscues and struggles at the plate cost Chatham (11-13-3, East) in an 8-1 loss to Hyannis (11-13-3, West). The Anglers are now alone in last place in the East Division. Chatham committed three errors, tallied four hits and managed just six baserunners all night, putting on a forgettable display under the lights at Veterans Field. A five-run fourth inning for the Harbor Hawks proved to be too much for the A’s to retaliate from.
Anglers’ manager Dennis Cook struggled to explain his team’s game-by-game inconsistencies.
“I can’t tell you. I don't know. I don’t know what it is,” Cook said.
It wasn’t hard for Cook to pinpoint their problems against Hyannis, though.
“We swung at a ton of bad pitches,” he said following a night where Chatham suffered 11 strikeouts and stranded five runners on the bases. “We were chasing out of the strike zone way too much.”
When one side hits a crowd-silencing grand slam and receives a masterclass from its starting pitcher, it’s fairly easy to crown a victor. On Thursday, Hyannis made the necessary winning plays and received superior individual excellence — shortstop Jake Schaffner blasted a fourth-inning grand slam and right-handed pitcher Tsubasa Tomii struck out five across 5.0 innings with one run allowed.
Their efforts put the Anglers in an early hole. Trying to climb out of it, A’s slugger Daniel Jackson (Georgia) throttled a solo homer to deep right-center field to cut Chatham’s deficit to 5-1 in the fourth inning.
In hindsight, though, that was much too little, much too late. Especially considering the dire situation unfolding thanks to the Anglers’ pitching. Chatham lefty starter Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) as well as bullpen arms Cam Johnson (Oklahoma) and JJ Glasscock (West Virginia) issued eight total walks to Harbor Hawks’ batters. They also combined for seven wild pitches and hit two batters.
On the field after the game concluded, Cook and Chatham pitching coach Jay Powell held a lengthy meeting with the A’s pitchers. Cook said the topic of discussion was simple: If you don’t throw strikes, enjoy the bench.
“You cannot walk eight people and hit two and expect to pitch for your school,” Cook said. “You just can’t do that. Players win games and players lose games. The ball’s in their hand, and they have to throw strikes. It’s not in my hand. So they got to figure it out.”
Making his first start of the season, Charlie Foster allowed five runs — all unearned — across four innings in Chatham's 8-1 loss to Hyannis Thursday. Photograph by Ella Tovey
It had been a rough go of things for Foster over the past few weeks. The Anglers’ lefty pitcher entered his first-career CCBL start with a 6.59 earned run average across 13.2 innings of work this season. Against the Harbor Hawks, Foster suppressed his inflated ERA, churning through three scoreless innings to begin the contest.
Yet Foster’s every move was exceeded by Hyannis’ Tomii. The 5-foot-7 Pima Community College hurler from Tokyo no-hit the A’s over the opening three frames, racking up four strikeouts and holding Chatham to one baserunner in that span.
It was beginning to look like another guessing game, where one tries to determine which version of the Anglers were present on the field. In Chatham’s first year under Cook, it has often followed juggernaut-esque performances with duds — to the point where it’s eerie.
The A’s were 7-6 in July coming into Thursday. All seven of those wins occurred when Chatham scored at least seven runs. All six losses came when the Anglers finished with two or fewer runs. In that time, they only went on one stretch where they scored seven-plus runs in consecutive games.
They would have needed to do something similar in order to win on Thursday.
Instead, they fell seven runs short.
Hyannis piled five runs on Foster in a rough fourth inning for Chatham. A frame that started with Anglers’ shortstop Isaiah Lane (San Diego) bobbling a routine ground ball ended with Schaffner trotting around the diamond after hammering a two-out grand slam into right.
Though all five runs were unearned, Foster allowed four subsequent baserunners via two singles and two walks and tossed a wild pitch. A few costly mistakes put a damper on what was an otherwise solid appearance from Foster (4.0 innings pitched, four Ks, three hits).
But that’s baseball.
Twenty-four hours prior, the Anglers were putting the finishing touches on their explosive 8-7 win over Orleans, in which they squandered a four-run lead but pulled away in an extra 10th inning. Chatham unleashed a season-best 14 hits against the Firebirds, sparked by a 3-for-6 evening from Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and a 2-for-5, three-RBI line from Chase Fralick (Auburn). At times, the baseball looked like a beach ball; Chatham’s bats could do no wrong.
One night’s sleep later yielded a near-opposite result. The A’s had difficulties hitting the ball out of the infield versus Harbor Hawks’ pitching. Tomii’s dominance was aided by right-handers Chris Diaz and Zach Edwards, who combined for a shutout over the final four innings.
In 2025, the Anglers have taken life’s reality of experiencing highs and lows to a whole new level. It’s like flipping a coin each day. Will Chatham show up as an unstoppable force? Or will it prove itself to be an easily movable object?
At this point, any guess would suffice.
“I mean, it’s up to (the players) to compete,” Cook said. “We can tell them to compete until we’re blue in the face. If they’re not going to compete, they’re not going to compete.”
