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Game 31 Preview: Chatham at Harwich
CHATHAM, Mass. — There’s little you can say after six errors are made in the field. For Anglers first-year manager Dennis Cook, that was the case Tuesday, when Chatham made a litany of elementary mistakes in its 5-1 home loss to Wareham. The A’s blunders were so severe that one of the errors wasn’t even registered until Wednesday morning, as if there were too many to keep track of.
“I don’t know the cause,” Cook said postgame of Chatham’s six errors. “I just know we stunk defensively.”
The errors were still only a microcosm for the Anglers’ struggles. Their pitching staff issued six walks. Their offense totaled two hits. They batted 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base.
A positive? Things can’t get much worse than that for the A’s. Sitting last in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s East Division, the Anglers must wipe their slate clean as they begin the final quarter of the 2025 regular season against Harwich — which ranks first in the East standings.
Here’s everything to know before Chatham (13-14-3, East) battles Harwich (15-12-3, East) Thursday at Whitehouse Field.
A’s southpaw Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) will notch his second start — and seventh appearance — of the Cape League season. Foster’s accumulated 17.2 innings of work for Chatham, registering a 5.09 earned run average with 22 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .219 batting average. His low-to-mid 90s heater doesn’t overwhelm hitters with velocity, but the 6-foot-3 rising sophomore uses his changeup well late in counts to flummox batters.
For the Mariners, manager Steve Englert is sending Matthew Heiberger (Alabama) to the bump for his second start of the summer. With a 2.41 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, the lefty hurler stands out statistically as one of Harwich’s top arms. Tallying 18.2 innings pitched so far, Heiberger’s only allowed five runs. He boasts a predominantly fastball-changeup pitch mix, like Foster, which helped him find a role this spring at Alabama as a high-leverage bullpen arm.
Aiden Robbins (Texas) plays a lot like former MLB slugger Adam Dunn — it’s assumed each of their at-bats will end with a home run or strikeout. Despite playing just 17 games, Robbins leads the Mariners with four home runs. In 65 at-bats, he’s batting .292 with a .918 OPS. But more than a third of his at-bats end in Ks, striking out 26 times. Anglers’ hurlers certainly don't need to pitch around Robbins, but they can’t leave anything over the heart of the plate.
Jake Koonin (Princeton) fits the same archetype as Robbins, though he’s absolutely devoid of any sort of consistency. Koonin’s three home runs rank second on the Mariners. However, in 19 games and 60 at-bats, Koonin has just nine hits while suffering 19 strikeouts. While the second baseman/outfielder is batting .150 with a below .300 on-base percentage, he’s still a major home run threat, and it’s clear any negative outcome against him would have drastic implications for Chatham.
Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) was the lone bright spot in the Anglers’ brutal loss to the Gatemen Tuesday. Making his Chatham debut, Mazon went 1-for-2 at the dish and reached base 2-of-3 plate appearances — the lone A’s player to reach base multiple times Tuesday. The second baseman will likely play a huge role going forward with infielder Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) having exited the Cape, and he’s off to a solid start after his debut.
Only one Angler has belted multiple home runs during the month of July: Jackson Freeman (Northwestern). The CCBL All-Star continues to distinguish himself as one of Chatham’s top players it’s housed this season, racking up a .782 OPS and a team-best 29 hits. In Freeman’s last four games, he only batted .167 but managed to get on base at a .444 clip during the stretch; even in brief slumps, Freeman finds a way to be a key contributor.
When the Anglers lose, they don’t give themselves a waking chance to win. They’re 9-8 through the first 17 games of July. In those eight defeats, opponents held Chatham to 0.88 runs per game, a far cry from the A’s 8.78 runs per contest in their nine winning efforts of July.
To sum it up even simpler: Chatham hasn’t lost a game in July when it scores at least six runs, and hasn’t won when it scores two or fewer. The Anglers get hot quicker than every other CCBL team, but cool down even more rapidly — which isn’t a recipe for postseason qualification.
The A’s left no stone unturned against the Mariners’ pitching staff back on July 11 at Whitehouse Field, where Chatham stomped Harwich 12-7. The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for the Anglers’ and set a new season-high single-game run tally.
Their lineup combined for 12 hits and drew nine walks, with Roman Martin’s (UCLA) 4-for-5 night serving as the game’s marquee performance. Jake Hanley (Indiana) went 2-for-4 and drove home a game-high five runs in the power hitter’s best game of the summer thus far. Chatham tallied at least a run in six of nine frames, continuously exerting its dominance.
“I don’t know the cause,” Cook said postgame of Chatham’s six errors. “I just know we stunk defensively.”
The errors were still only a microcosm for the Anglers’ struggles. Their pitching staff issued six walks. Their offense totaled two hits. They batted 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base.
A positive? Things can’t get much worse than that for the A’s. Sitting last in the Cape Cod Baseball League’s East Division, the Anglers must wipe their slate clean as they begin the final quarter of the 2025 regular season against Harwich — which ranks first in the East standings.
Here’s everything to know before Chatham (13-14-3, East) battles Harwich (15-12-3, East) Thursday at Whitehouse Field.
Probable Starters
A’s southpaw Charlie Foster (Mississippi State) will notch his second start — and seventh appearance — of the Cape League season. Foster’s accumulated 17.2 innings of work for Chatham, registering a 5.09 earned run average with 22 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .219 batting average. His low-to-mid 90s heater doesn’t overwhelm hitters with velocity, but the 6-foot-3 rising sophomore uses his changeup well late in counts to flummox batters.
For the Mariners, manager Steve Englert is sending Matthew Heiberger (Alabama) to the bump for his second start of the summer. With a 2.41 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, the lefty hurler stands out statistically as one of Harwich’s top arms. Tallying 18.2 innings pitched so far, Heiberger’s only allowed five runs. He boasts a predominantly fastball-changeup pitch mix, like Foster, which helped him find a role this spring at Alabama as a high-leverage bullpen arm.
Harwich Players To Know
Aiden Robbins (Texas) plays a lot like former MLB slugger Adam Dunn — it’s assumed each of their at-bats will end with a home run or strikeout. Despite playing just 17 games, Robbins leads the Mariners with four home runs. In 65 at-bats, he’s batting .292 with a .918 OPS. But more than a third of his at-bats end in Ks, striking out 26 times. Anglers’ hurlers certainly don't need to pitch around Robbins, but they can’t leave anything over the heart of the plate.
Jake Koonin (Princeton) fits the same archetype as Robbins, though he’s absolutely devoid of any sort of consistency. Koonin’s three home runs rank second on the Mariners. However, in 19 games and 60 at-bats, Koonin has just nine hits while suffering 19 strikeouts. While the second baseman/outfielder is batting .150 with a below .300 on-base percentage, he’s still a major home run threat, and it’s clear any negative outcome against him would have drastic implications for Chatham.
Chatham Players To Know
Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) was the lone bright spot in the Anglers’ brutal loss to the Gatemen Tuesday. Making his Chatham debut, Mazon went 1-for-2 at the dish and reached base 2-of-3 plate appearances — the lone A’s player to reach base multiple times Tuesday. The second baseman will likely play a huge role going forward with infielder Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina) having exited the Cape, and he’s off to a solid start after his debut.
Only one Angler has belted multiple home runs during the month of July: Jackson Freeman (Northwestern). The CCBL All-Star continues to distinguish himself as one of Chatham’s top players it’s housed this season, racking up a .782 OPS and a team-best 29 hits. In Freeman’s last four games, he only batted .167 but managed to get on base at a .444 clip during the stretch; even in brief slumps, Freeman finds a way to be a key contributor.
Number To Know: 0.88
When the Anglers lose, they don’t give themselves a waking chance to win. They’re 9-8 through the first 17 games of July. In those eight defeats, opponents held Chatham to 0.88 runs per game, a far cry from the A’s 8.78 runs per contest in their nine winning efforts of July.
To sum it up even simpler: Chatham hasn’t lost a game in July when it scores at least six runs, and hasn’t won when it scores two or fewer. The Anglers get hot quicker than every other CCBL team, but cool down even more rapidly — which isn’t a recipe for postseason qualification.
Last Time They Played
The A’s left no stone unturned against the Mariners’ pitching staff back on July 11 at Whitehouse Field, where Chatham stomped Harwich 12-7. The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for the Anglers’ and set a new season-high single-game run tally.
Their lineup combined for 12 hits and drew nine walks, with Roman Martin’s (UCLA) 4-for-5 night serving as the game’s marquee performance. Jake Hanley (Indiana) went 2-for-4 and drove home a game-high five runs in the power hitter’s best game of the summer thus far. Chatham tallied at least a run in six of nine frames, continuously exerting its dominance.
