Anglers News« Back to 2025 News |
Game 32 Preview: Chatham vs. Yarmouth-Dennis
CHATHAM, Mass. — For what feels like the millionth time this year, the Anglers are in desperate need of a win.
If the season ended today, Chatham would be on the outside looking in for the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs, ending the first year of the Dennis Cook era without postseason play.
Right now, the A’s sit three points out of playoff contention. After a brutal 12-1 run-rule loss to Harwich Thursday, they’re currently on a two-game skid, approaching rock bottom in a season which has handed them plenty of trials and tribulations.
Fortunately for the Anglers, the season doesn’t end today. There are still nine games left for Chatham to make up crucial ground heading into the home stretch, and as the A’s return to friendly confines to host Yarmouth-Dennis Friday, they have a tailor-made opportunity to get back on track.
Ahead of Chatham’s (13-15-3, East) return to Veterans Field against Y-D (16-12-3, East) Friday, here’s everything you need to know about both sides.
Across Chatham, the news that Duke Stone (Mississippi State) is due to start is enough to prompt a collective sigh of relief from Anglers fans. After calamitous Chatham pitching performances in consecutive losses to Wareham and Harwich, Stone’s return to the mound is a sight for sore eyes at Veterans Field. Since getting moved to the rotation, Stone has been dominant, allowing zero runs across 11.0 innings in his last two outings.
If the Red Sox want to steal a win from Stone, they’ll have to ensure they can limit Chatham’s offense, and they’ll entrust Derek Schaefer (Arizona State) with that task Friday. Similarly to Stone, Schaefer began the summer in the bullpen, but the tumultuous nature of the CCBL forced him into a recent starting role. He carries a 3.74 earned run average into his third start of the season.
Thanks to departures of Cody Miller (East Tennessee State/Atlanta Braves) and AJ Soldra (UConn), Yarmouth-Dennis currently has an empty cupboard in the power department. Miller ranked second on the team with three homers in his time with Y-D, while Soldra led the Red Sox with four. With that pair long gone, there is only one player on Yarmouth-Dennis who has more than two jacks thus far: Dean Carpentier (USC). The CCBL All-Star first baseman has accounted for most of Y-D’s firepower recently, impressing with a .269/.387/.519 slashline.
Despite being tied for a first-place spot in the East, Yarmouth-Dennis has been anything but a run-producing team. There are only three Red Sox players with double-digit RBIs this summer. The first, Miller, is no longer with the team. The second, Will Baker, has underwhelmed to the tune of a .537 OPS. The third? That would be Chris Hacopian (Texas A&M), who has recovered from his slow start to lead Yarmouth-Dennis by a significant margin with 15 runs batted in. A’s arms will have to be careful going up against Hacopian.
Over the past two contests, watching the Anglers’ offense attempt to cobble together runs has been an exercise in futility. The A’s only managed to plate one run in each of their contests against Wareham and Harwich. Who drove in Chatham’s lone run against the Mariners? That would be A’s third baseman Roman Martin (UCLA), whose groundball base knock single-handedly prevented the Anglers’ from getting shut out in consecutive losses. His .233/.340/.326 slashline may be rather unremarkable, but he’s still a crucial piece for Chatham as it closes out the regular season.
Martin made his mark at the keystone against Harwich, as the Anglers were notably missing a familiar face at short: Isaiah Lane (San Diego). Lane — who has only missed one other contest so far this summer — was absent from Whitehouse Field as he battled a brief sickness. His absence was sorely missed, as he ranks in the top three among A’s in runs (15), RBIs (15) and walks (18). Lane could prove crucial in the Anglers’ chances at a bounce-back performance.
Early in the season, the Anglers had a litany of hitters near the top of the CCBL’s OPS leaderboards. Names such as Ace Reese (Mississippi State), Henry Ford (Tennessee), Ashton Larson (LSU), Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and Daniel Jackson (Georgia) each carried an OPS well over .800, headlining a star-studded lineup.
Since then, a confluence of factors — namely early departures and drop-offs in performance — have all but erased Chatham’s offensive starpower. Reese departed early on for Team USA, and Ford did the same prior to the MLB Draft. Larson has seen his OPS dip under .700, while Freeman’s OPS has also dipped slightly under .800. As a result, Jackson is the only active Angler with an OPS over .800, sporting a mighty .898 mark.
When these two squads last faced off on July 13, Stone was again on the bump at Red Wilson Field, making his first start in a competitive baseball game since his junior year of high school. He starred across five shutout innings of work, effectively forcing his way into Chatham’s rotation for the foreseeable future.
“I mean, I’m sure he’ll start,” Cook said after the contest. “He earned (the chance) to start the next game.”
Stone’s performance spurred a 7-2 win for Chatham, where the A’s broke out for 13 hits and blasted two home runs. Jake Hanley (Indiana) and Lane both hit their first home runs of the season, putting the cherry on top of the Anglers’ dominant victory.
If the season ended today, Chatham would be on the outside looking in for the Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs, ending the first year of the Dennis Cook era without postseason play.
Right now, the A’s sit three points out of playoff contention. After a brutal 12-1 run-rule loss to Harwich Thursday, they’re currently on a two-game skid, approaching rock bottom in a season which has handed them plenty of trials and tribulations.
Fortunately for the Anglers, the season doesn’t end today. There are still nine games left for Chatham to make up crucial ground heading into the home stretch, and as the A’s return to friendly confines to host Yarmouth-Dennis Friday, they have a tailor-made opportunity to get back on track.
Ahead of Chatham’s (13-15-3, East) return to Veterans Field against Y-D (16-12-3, East) Friday, here’s everything you need to know about both sides.
Probable Starters
Across Chatham, the news that Duke Stone (Mississippi State) is due to start is enough to prompt a collective sigh of relief from Anglers fans. After calamitous Chatham pitching performances in consecutive losses to Wareham and Harwich, Stone’s return to the mound is a sight for sore eyes at Veterans Field. Since getting moved to the rotation, Stone has been dominant, allowing zero runs across 11.0 innings in his last two outings.
If the Red Sox want to steal a win from Stone, they’ll have to ensure they can limit Chatham’s offense, and they’ll entrust Derek Schaefer (Arizona State) with that task Friday. Similarly to Stone, Schaefer began the summer in the bullpen, but the tumultuous nature of the CCBL forced him into a recent starting role. He carries a 3.74 earned run average into his third start of the season.
Yarmouth-Dennis Players To Watch
Thanks to departures of Cody Miller (East Tennessee State/Atlanta Braves) and AJ Soldra (UConn), Yarmouth-Dennis currently has an empty cupboard in the power department. Miller ranked second on the team with three homers in his time with Y-D, while Soldra led the Red Sox with four. With that pair long gone, there is only one player on Yarmouth-Dennis who has more than two jacks thus far: Dean Carpentier (USC). The CCBL All-Star first baseman has accounted for most of Y-D’s firepower recently, impressing with a .269/.387/.519 slashline.
Despite being tied for a first-place spot in the East, Yarmouth-Dennis has been anything but a run-producing team. There are only three Red Sox players with double-digit RBIs this summer. The first, Miller, is no longer with the team. The second, Will Baker, has underwhelmed to the tune of a .537 OPS. The third? That would be Chris Hacopian (Texas A&M), who has recovered from his slow start to lead Yarmouth-Dennis by a significant margin with 15 runs batted in. A’s arms will have to be careful going up against Hacopian.
Chatham Players To Watch
Over the past two contests, watching the Anglers’ offense attempt to cobble together runs has been an exercise in futility. The A’s only managed to plate one run in each of their contests against Wareham and Harwich. Who drove in Chatham’s lone run against the Mariners? That would be A’s third baseman Roman Martin (UCLA), whose groundball base knock single-handedly prevented the Anglers’ from getting shut out in consecutive losses. His .233/.340/.326 slashline may be rather unremarkable, but he’s still a crucial piece for Chatham as it closes out the regular season.
Martin made his mark at the keystone against Harwich, as the Anglers were notably missing a familiar face at short: Isaiah Lane (San Diego). Lane — who has only missed one other contest so far this summer — was absent from Whitehouse Field as he battled a brief sickness. His absence was sorely missed, as he ranks in the top three among A’s in runs (15), RBIs (15) and walks (18). Lane could prove crucial in the Anglers’ chances at a bounce-back performance.
Number To Know: .898
Early in the season, the Anglers had a litany of hitters near the top of the CCBL’s OPS leaderboards. Names such as Ace Reese (Mississippi State), Henry Ford (Tennessee), Ashton Larson (LSU), Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) and Daniel Jackson (Georgia) each carried an OPS well over .800, headlining a star-studded lineup.
Since then, a confluence of factors — namely early departures and drop-offs in performance — have all but erased Chatham’s offensive starpower. Reese departed early on for Team USA, and Ford did the same prior to the MLB Draft. Larson has seen his OPS dip under .700, while Freeman’s OPS has also dipped slightly under .800. As a result, Jackson is the only active Angler with an OPS over .800, sporting a mighty .898 mark.
Last Time They Played
When these two squads last faced off on July 13, Stone was again on the bump at Red Wilson Field, making his first start in a competitive baseball game since his junior year of high school. He starred across five shutout innings of work, effectively forcing his way into Chatham’s rotation for the foreseeable future.
“I mean, I’m sure he’ll start,” Cook said after the contest. “He earned (the chance) to start the next game.”
Stone’s performance spurred a 7-2 win for Chatham, where the A’s broke out for 13 hits and blasted two home runs. Jake Hanley (Indiana) and Lane both hit their first home runs of the season, putting the cherry on top of the Anglers’ dominant victory.
