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Caleb Freeman's 1-out save clinches Chatham's 5-4 victory over Hyannis
HYANNIS, Mass. — The first person Caleb Freeman embraced before packing up his equipment in the dugout was his fiancée, Tabitha Littlefield. Freeman proposed to her on June 1 in their home state of South Carolina. Through Freeman’s ever-winding baseball journey — where he’s transferred between four different NCAA programs and played on a litany of summer ball teams, including three Cape League squads — Tabitha’s been right there by his side.
Naturally, when Freeman (Eastern Kentucky) was added to Chatham’s active roster on July 22, Tabitha packed her bags and flew to Cape Cod. On Saturday, a few days after her arrival, Tabitha had a front-row seat as her future husband was abruptly thrust into a two-out save situation in the ninth inning.
Only five pitches were needed for the soon-to-be married couple to experience a magical moment. Back against the wall with Hyannis baserunners standing at first and second, Freeman retired Harbor Hawks catcher Deiten Lachance on a flyout to center field.
Once Anglers manager Dennis Cook broke the postgame team huddle, Freeman bolted to the visiting stands at McKeon Park, where his beaming fiancée stood bearing a contagious smile.
“It’s my first win as an Angler,” Freeman proudly stated. “It couldn’t have come at a better time or in a better situation.”
Freeman’s one-out save proved crucial for Chatham (14-16-3, East) to escape McKeon Park with a 5-4 victory over Hyannis (13-17-3, West) Saturday. The Anglers saw a 5-2 lead shrink to a one-run advantage after the Harbor Hawks plated two in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Will Girardi (Lenoir-Rhyne). When Hyannis threatened again in the ninth, Cook and A’s pitching coach Jay Powell went with Freeman, who delivered in a dire situation to preserve Chatham’s playoff chances as the regular season winds down.
The only problem? Freeman’s final pitch wasn’t supposed to be a hanging sinker.
Cook and Powell were feeding Anglers catcher Cade Arrambide (LSU) signs to indicate which pitches they wanted Freeman to throw. With the count at 1-2 after Lachance fought off a foul ball, Cook said the plan was for Freeman to throw a slider away, hoping to bait Hyannis’ batter into chasing. Well, Freeman felt otherwise. He already threw four straight sliders. “‘OK, I can change his eye level,’” he thought to himself. So he threw a sinker.
The ball got roped deep toward the right-center field wall. But center fielder Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) drifted over to snare the flyout, eliciting sighs of relief from the A’s dugout.
“It ended up in the guy’s glove, so that’s all that matters,” Freeman said of his 1-2 sinker.
“We were gonna get (Lachance) out with the slider on the next pitch,” Cook said. “But hey, we’ll take it anywhere we can get it.”
Though Freeman’s effort didn’t help the Anglers gain any playoff ground with a win — Orleans beat Yarmouth-Dennis 8-5, keeping its three-point lead as the East Division’s No. 4 seed — it’s a crucial building block for an A’s club searching to flip their season on its head.
In his third appearance of the season, Caleb Freeman induced a bases-loaded flyout from Deiten Lachance to seal Chatham's 5-4 victory over Hyannis. Photograph by Ella Tovey
Saturday’s victory both snapped Chatham’s three-game losing streak and broke a peculiar drought the Anglers had been experiencing at McKeon Park. They hadn’t beaten Hyannis in its home venue since the start of 2024, getting outscored 23-1 across three brutal results.
At last, the A’s exorcised their McKeon Park demons by putting together a (mostly) complete performance from start to finish. Their offense got the bats around well against Harbor Hawks’ starter Tsubasa Tomii, who allowed three earned runs in the third inning. Led by Ashton Larson (Texas) going 3-for-4 at the plate and a two-hit, one-RBI night from Reed Stallman (Mississippi State), the Anglers unloaded 10 hits — a far cry from the club’s previous outings in Hyannis.
Even their pitching substitutions went according to plan, which Cook took immense satisfaction in postgame. Chatham righty Kaden Smith (USF) tossed 6.0 frames of two-run ball, tying him with Duke Stone (Mississippi State) for the longest start by an A’s pitcher this summer. Smith’s stellar showing gave Cook bullpen flexibility, a luxury that didn’t exist over the Anglers’ last three contests.
“It all starts with the starting pitcher,” said Cook, who recently switched Chatham to employ an MLB-style pitching staff with more consistent roles than he’d previously assigned. “We’ve done this for three days now. And the first starter gave us two innings and then last night’s starter gave us three innings. So I mean, there’s no mixing and matching there.”
With a 5-2 lead entering the eighth inning, Cook didn’t realize he’d be forced into making a spur-of-the-moment pitching decision. Smith’s lengthy start made it easier for Cook to execute a substitution plan when it became necessary.
Hyannis loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth after the Anglers’ right fielder, Daniel Jackson (Georgia), lost two fly balls in mid-air that rose above the lights at McKeon Park and into the darkness.
Utter shock set in. Two plays that appeared routine became free singles. The Harbor Hawks took advantage via an RBI sacrifice fly from Lachance and a bases-loaded walk taken by Gabe Camacho. All of a sudden, Chatham’s lead went from a comfortable gap to a wildly uncomfortable one-run advantage.
It was only fitting Jackson’s misplays in right field happened as a result of the infrastructure at McKeon Park — the venue continued tormenting the Anglers. But through pain comes pleasure. Chatham got the last laugh in Hyannis, courtesy of Freeman taking the ball from Girardi with two outs in the ninth.
Freeman’s whole family wasn’t there, since his parents were visiting his brother who’s studying abroad in London. He still said he was gratified to come through in the clutch with Tabitha watching from the stands. He hopes to create similar moments when his parents arrive on the Cape on Aug. 1.
Because for someone like Freeman, every chance he gains is that much more important to seize. He’s transferred from UNC Greensboro to North Greenville to Jacksonville and now, to Eastern Kentucky, logging double-digit innings in two of his four collegiate seasons thus far. Nothing is guaranteed for Freeman. So, after spending 2023 with Brewster and 2024 with Orleans, he’ll be using his third Cape League stop to prove he deserves increased opportunity.
It’s why Freeman didn’t hesitate when he learned he’d be entering Saturday’s game with a victory on the line.
“Whenever my name is called, I’m ready,” Freeman said.
Naturally, when Freeman (Eastern Kentucky) was added to Chatham’s active roster on July 22, Tabitha packed her bags and flew to Cape Cod. On Saturday, a few days after her arrival, Tabitha had a front-row seat as her future husband was abruptly thrust into a two-out save situation in the ninth inning.
Only five pitches were needed for the soon-to-be married couple to experience a magical moment. Back against the wall with Hyannis baserunners standing at first and second, Freeman retired Harbor Hawks catcher Deiten Lachance on a flyout to center field.
Once Anglers manager Dennis Cook broke the postgame team huddle, Freeman bolted to the visiting stands at McKeon Park, where his beaming fiancée stood bearing a contagious smile.
“It’s my first win as an Angler,” Freeman proudly stated. “It couldn’t have come at a better time or in a better situation.”
Freeman’s one-out save proved crucial for Chatham (14-16-3, East) to escape McKeon Park with a 5-4 victory over Hyannis (13-17-3, West) Saturday. The Anglers saw a 5-2 lead shrink to a one-run advantage after the Harbor Hawks plated two in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Will Girardi (Lenoir-Rhyne). When Hyannis threatened again in the ninth, Cook and A’s pitching coach Jay Powell went with Freeman, who delivered in a dire situation to preserve Chatham’s playoff chances as the regular season winds down.
The only problem? Freeman’s final pitch wasn’t supposed to be a hanging sinker.
Cook and Powell were feeding Anglers catcher Cade Arrambide (LSU) signs to indicate which pitches they wanted Freeman to throw. With the count at 1-2 after Lachance fought off a foul ball, Cook said the plan was for Freeman to throw a slider away, hoping to bait Hyannis’ batter into chasing. Well, Freeman felt otherwise. He already threw four straight sliders. “‘OK, I can change his eye level,’” he thought to himself. So he threw a sinker.
The ball got roped deep toward the right-center field wall. But center fielder Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) drifted over to snare the flyout, eliciting sighs of relief from the A’s dugout.
“It ended up in the guy’s glove, so that’s all that matters,” Freeman said of his 1-2 sinker.
“We were gonna get (Lachance) out with the slider on the next pitch,” Cook said. “But hey, we’ll take it anywhere we can get it.”
Though Freeman’s effort didn’t help the Anglers gain any playoff ground with a win — Orleans beat Yarmouth-Dennis 8-5, keeping its three-point lead as the East Division’s No. 4 seed — it’s a crucial building block for an A’s club searching to flip their season on its head.
In his third appearance of the season, Caleb Freeman induced a bases-loaded flyout from Deiten Lachance to seal Chatham's 5-4 victory over Hyannis. Photograph by Ella Tovey
Saturday’s victory both snapped Chatham’s three-game losing streak and broke a peculiar drought the Anglers had been experiencing at McKeon Park. They hadn’t beaten Hyannis in its home venue since the start of 2024, getting outscored 23-1 across three brutal results.
At last, the A’s exorcised their McKeon Park demons by putting together a (mostly) complete performance from start to finish. Their offense got the bats around well against Harbor Hawks’ starter Tsubasa Tomii, who allowed three earned runs in the third inning. Led by Ashton Larson (Texas) going 3-for-4 at the plate and a two-hit, one-RBI night from Reed Stallman (Mississippi State), the Anglers unloaded 10 hits — a far cry from the club’s previous outings in Hyannis.
Even their pitching substitutions went according to plan, which Cook took immense satisfaction in postgame. Chatham righty Kaden Smith (USF) tossed 6.0 frames of two-run ball, tying him with Duke Stone (Mississippi State) for the longest start by an A’s pitcher this summer. Smith’s stellar showing gave Cook bullpen flexibility, a luxury that didn’t exist over the Anglers’ last three contests.
“It all starts with the starting pitcher,” said Cook, who recently switched Chatham to employ an MLB-style pitching staff with more consistent roles than he’d previously assigned. “We’ve done this for three days now. And the first starter gave us two innings and then last night’s starter gave us three innings. So I mean, there’s no mixing and matching there.”
With a 5-2 lead entering the eighth inning, Cook didn’t realize he’d be forced into making a spur-of-the-moment pitching decision. Smith’s lengthy start made it easier for Cook to execute a substitution plan when it became necessary.
Hyannis loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth after the Anglers’ right fielder, Daniel Jackson (Georgia), lost two fly balls in mid-air that rose above the lights at McKeon Park and into the darkness.
Utter shock set in. Two plays that appeared routine became free singles. The Harbor Hawks took advantage via an RBI sacrifice fly from Lachance and a bases-loaded walk taken by Gabe Camacho. All of a sudden, Chatham’s lead went from a comfortable gap to a wildly uncomfortable one-run advantage.
It was only fitting Jackson’s misplays in right field happened as a result of the infrastructure at McKeon Park — the venue continued tormenting the Anglers. But through pain comes pleasure. Chatham got the last laugh in Hyannis, courtesy of Freeman taking the ball from Girardi with two outs in the ninth.
Freeman’s whole family wasn’t there, since his parents were visiting his brother who’s studying abroad in London. He still said he was gratified to come through in the clutch with Tabitha watching from the stands. He hopes to create similar moments when his parents arrive on the Cape on Aug. 1.
Because for someone like Freeman, every chance he gains is that much more important to seize. He’s transferred from UNC Greensboro to North Greenville to Jacksonville and now, to Eastern Kentucky, logging double-digit innings in two of his four collegiate seasons thus far. Nothing is guaranteed for Freeman. So, after spending 2023 with Brewster and 2024 with Orleans, he’ll be using his third Cape League stop to prove he deserves increased opportunity.
It’s why Freeman didn’t hesitate when he learned he’d be entering Saturday’s game with a victory on the line.
“Whenever my name is called, I’m ready,” Freeman said.
