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Game 36 Preview: Chatham vs. Brewster
CHATHAM, Mass. — With five games left in the 2025 Cape Cod Baseball League regular season, the Anglers are in a precarious position.
Thanks to victories over Falmouth and Bourne, respectively, Yarmouth-Dennis and Brewster only continued to cement their position in the East Division standings, now ranked second and third in the East with 39 points each.
Chatham entered Tuesday last in the East, trailing Orleans by five points for a playoff spot. With Orleans’ 2-1 win over Harwich and the Anglers' 9-0 loss to Wareham, that deficit grew to seven, making their chances at a Cape League postseason appearance even slimmer.
If they want to bridge the gap between them and the Firebirds, the A’s can’t afford to lose many more contests. An Orleans win and Chatham loss would eliminate the Anglers from playoff contention. So, as they take on Brewster in their return to Veterans Field, a “get-right game” is certainly in order for the A’s.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Chatham’s (14-18-3, East) final matchup of the regular season against Brewster (19-15-1, East) on Wednesday.
In a must-win contest for Chatham, Anglers manager Dennis Cook is departing from his traditional, “MLB-style” rotation, opting to give Will Girardi (Lenoir-Rhyne) his first start of the year. Girardi has had a bit of a tumultuous start to his Chatham career. Across 4.2 innings thus far, he’s walked seven and struck out two batters, leading to a ghastly 2.36 WHIP. And yet, he still has not allowed an earned run in his two appearances.
Brewster is also experimenting with its rotation late in the year, giving Brady Louck (Florida State) his first start of the summer against Chatham. In his five relief appearances thus far, he’s been shaky for the Whitecaps, giving up eight runs — seven earned — in his 8.0 innings of work for Brewster. He worked exclusively out of the bullpen for FSU this past season, meaning that his outing against Chatham will mark his first start since the 2024 NCAA season.
When Toronto native Brendan Lawson (Florida) arrived on the Cape, he immediately made his presence felt. In Brewster’s 8-2 victory over Orleans on July 1, Lawson stole the show with his 3-for-4 performance, putting the cherry on top of the Whitecaps’ triumphant win with a seventh-inning homer to right. That explosive debut proved to be a preview of what was to come for Lawson, as he’s slashed .328/.400/.563 across his 18 games in Brewster.
Adam Magpoc’s (San Diego State) offensive statistics are not nearly as gaudy as Lawson’s, but he has him beat in a few important categories. He walks. He wreaks havoc on basepaths. And he manufactures runs more effectively than any Whitecap position player. Magpoc leads Brewster with 15 walks, 18 runs and 22 stolen bases. That latter figure leads the CCBL by three, making Magpoc the Cape’s best basestealer by a wide margin.
His .621 OPS might not jump off the page, but Isaiah Lane (San Diego) has been a stabilizing presence as the Anglers’ shortstop this season. He’s tied with Daniel Jackson (Georgia) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) for the team lead in games played (33), ranks third in RBIs (16), and is second on the A’s in walks (20). With the departure of Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) depleting Chatham’s infield further, you can expect Lane to continue being a familiar face in the lineup.
Jake Hanley (Indiana) has had his ups and downs through the 2025 Cape League season, getting benched a couple times throughout the year. But he’s since become a consistent face in Chatham’s lineup, ranking third among qualified Anglers with a .668 OPS in 95 at-bats. His 17 RBIs rank second, while his .347 slugging percentage also ranks third among qualified A’s. If the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year can tap into his power stroke, it would go a long way towards helping Chatham make a late playoff push.
Early on, Chatham’s offense prided itself on having multiple hitters who excelled at reaching base. Jackson still leads the Cape League with a .431 on-base percentage, while hitters such as Lane and Chase Fralick (Auburn) were able to effectively utilize their patient plate approaches to their advantage.
That trend has disappeared as of late. In the last 15 days, Chatham ranks dead-last among Cape League teams with an abysmal .305 on-base percentage. Plating runs is already hard enough, but it’s impossible if you can’t reach base effectively.
It was a good day for Anglers fans when Brewster last rolled into town on July 18. Coming off a deflating 8-1 loss to Hyannis the day before, Chatham’s bats roared back to life with a twelve-hit performance in a 7-3 A’s victory.
Anglers righty Duke Stone (Mississippi State) was dominant in his second start of the season, pitching six shutout innings against the Whitecaps. And Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) bounced back from a brief slump in a major way, giving Chatham an immediate 1-0 lead with his first-inning solo blast to right.
Thanks to victories over Falmouth and Bourne, respectively, Yarmouth-Dennis and Brewster only continued to cement their position in the East Division standings, now ranked second and third in the East with 39 points each.
Chatham entered Tuesday last in the East, trailing Orleans by five points for a playoff spot. With Orleans’ 2-1 win over Harwich and the Anglers' 9-0 loss to Wareham, that deficit grew to seven, making their chances at a Cape League postseason appearance even slimmer.
If they want to bridge the gap between them and the Firebirds, the A’s can’t afford to lose many more contests. An Orleans win and Chatham loss would eliminate the Anglers from playoff contention. So, as they take on Brewster in their return to Veterans Field, a “get-right game” is certainly in order for the A’s.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Chatham’s (14-18-3, East) final matchup of the regular season against Brewster (19-15-1, East) on Wednesday.
Probable Starters
In a must-win contest for Chatham, Anglers manager Dennis Cook is departing from his traditional, “MLB-style” rotation, opting to give Will Girardi (Lenoir-Rhyne) his first start of the year. Girardi has had a bit of a tumultuous start to his Chatham career. Across 4.2 innings thus far, he’s walked seven and struck out two batters, leading to a ghastly 2.36 WHIP. And yet, he still has not allowed an earned run in his two appearances.
Brewster is also experimenting with its rotation late in the year, giving Brady Louck (Florida State) his first start of the summer against Chatham. In his five relief appearances thus far, he’s been shaky for the Whitecaps, giving up eight runs — seven earned — in his 8.0 innings of work for Brewster. He worked exclusively out of the bullpen for FSU this past season, meaning that his outing against Chatham will mark his first start since the 2024 NCAA season.
Brewster Players To Watch
When Toronto native Brendan Lawson (Florida) arrived on the Cape, he immediately made his presence felt. In Brewster’s 8-2 victory over Orleans on July 1, Lawson stole the show with his 3-for-4 performance, putting the cherry on top of the Whitecaps’ triumphant win with a seventh-inning homer to right. That explosive debut proved to be a preview of what was to come for Lawson, as he’s slashed .328/.400/.563 across his 18 games in Brewster.
Adam Magpoc’s (San Diego State) offensive statistics are not nearly as gaudy as Lawson’s, but he has him beat in a few important categories. He walks. He wreaks havoc on basepaths. And he manufactures runs more effectively than any Whitecap position player. Magpoc leads Brewster with 15 walks, 18 runs and 22 stolen bases. That latter figure leads the CCBL by three, making Magpoc the Cape’s best basestealer by a wide margin.
Chatham Players To Watch
His .621 OPS might not jump off the page, but Isaiah Lane (San Diego) has been a stabilizing presence as the Anglers’ shortstop this season. He’s tied with Daniel Jackson (Georgia) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) for the team lead in games played (33), ranks third in RBIs (16), and is second on the A’s in walks (20). With the departure of Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) depleting Chatham’s infield further, you can expect Lane to continue being a familiar face in the lineup.
Jake Hanley (Indiana) has had his ups and downs through the 2025 Cape League season, getting benched a couple times throughout the year. But he’s since become a consistent face in Chatham’s lineup, ranking third among qualified Anglers with a .668 OPS in 95 at-bats. His 17 RBIs rank second, while his .347 slugging percentage also ranks third among qualified A’s. If the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year can tap into his power stroke, it would go a long way towards helping Chatham make a late playoff push.
Number To Know: .305
Early on, Chatham’s offense prided itself on having multiple hitters who excelled at reaching base. Jackson still leads the Cape League with a .431 on-base percentage, while hitters such as Lane and Chase Fralick (Auburn) were able to effectively utilize their patient plate approaches to their advantage.
That trend has disappeared as of late. In the last 15 days, Chatham ranks dead-last among Cape League teams with an abysmal .305 on-base percentage. Plating runs is already hard enough, but it’s impossible if you can’t reach base effectively.
Last Time They Played
It was a good day for Anglers fans when Brewster last rolled into town on July 18. Coming off a deflating 8-1 loss to Hyannis the day before, Chatham’s bats roared back to life with a twelve-hit performance in a 7-3 A’s victory.
Anglers righty Duke Stone (Mississippi State) was dominant in his second start of the season, pitching six shutout innings against the Whitecaps. And Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) bounced back from a brief slump in a major way, giving Chatham an immediate 1-0 lead with his first-inning solo blast to right.
