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Anglers take control late in 7-4 road victory over Y-D
SOUTH YARMOUTH, Mass. — There’s nothing wrong with having priorities. For Dennis Cook, his wife took precedence over a lengthy postgame team meeting Saturday.
Prior to the game, Chatham’s first-year manager said he’d have to leave Red Wilson Field earlier than normal, because he was taking his spouse, Tammy Cook, out to dinner at 8 p.m. The Anglers have already been eliminated from the playoffs, so win or lose, it wasn’t like Cook had much of a reason to break into a long postgame diatribe.
There turned out to be no better evening that Cook could’ve picked for a date night. He got to treat his wife to a nice meal as a winner, a feeling the skipper hasn’t experienced too often this summer.
Chatham (16-20-3, East) defeated Yarmouth-Dennis (19-17-3, East) 7-4 Saturday at Red Wilson Field. The Anglers fought back from an early three-run deficit to keep the score locked at 4-4 for most of the contest, made possible by six innings of four-run ball from lefty starter Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma). But 2.1 shutout frames of relief from right-hander Caleb Freeman (Eastern Kentucky) and the A’s ability to capitalize on their free opportunities — Chatham took a whopping 13 walks on Saturday — allowed them to upset the Red Sox on the road.
Initially, it only took one inning for Cook to want to skip ahead to his dinner reservation. In the bottom of the first, Y-D center fielder Jayce Tharnish scored all the way from first base after a low pickoff throw from Jones was followed by errant tosses from first baseman Reed Stallman (Mississippi State) and left fielder Jake Hanley (Indiana).
“Jiminy Crickets,” Cook said in disgust; at that point, he’d run out of new phrases to utter.
From there, Cook started barking at home-plate umpire Will Bowers on the first chance he got. He couldn’t have envisioned a jubilant ending to take place a few hours later.
The Anglers and Red Sox engaged in a back and forth early on. Chatham matched its gaffe-ridden first inning with one run in the second, courtesy of Isaiah Lane (San Diego) smacking an RBI sacrifice fly. Then Jones experienced a setback in the bottom of the second, allowing three Y-D runs punctuated by a Nick Costello two-run homer.
But after Jones’ struggles, Red Sox reliever Trey Lawrence gifted Chatham a three-spot of its own in the top of the third. He struggled to find the zone, walking four batters and giving up one hit, registering just one out in the frame. Bases-loaded walks by Stallman and Roman Martin (UCLA) — as well as an RBI single off the wall from Chase Fralick (Auburn) — knotted the game at 4-4 after the top of the third.
The game settled in once the bottom of the third commenced. Jones shook off his turbulent start, firing four straight scoreless frames across the third through the sixth. Meanwhile, Yarmouth-Dennis righty Noah Bentley got through 2.2 innings without conceding a run after entering the game in Lawrence’s place.
In the sixth, the Anglers finally put Bentley on his heels. Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) and Hanley reached base via a hit by pitch and a walk, respectively, giving Chatham’s offense plenty of juice with no outs on the board. Yet, the Anglers’ baserunners wouldn’t even reach third, as Bentley struck out Cade Arrambide (LSU) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) before forcing a weak 5-3 groundout to Daniel Jackson (Georgia) to close the inning unscathed.
Before Cook trotted Jones out for a seventh inning of work, Chatham plated its first run of the night versus Bentley, driving in Fralick by drawing four consecutive free passes. Pitching with a newfound 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Jones instantly walked Costello in four pitches, eliciting Anglers pitching coach Jay Powell to swap him for right-hander Caleb Freeman (Eastern Kentucky). Freeman continued where Jones left off, retiring three of four Y-D batters to maintain the A’s one-run lead heading into the eighth.
After the seventh inning came to a close, the clock ticked just past 6:50 p.m. The game’s conclusion was beginning to encroach upon Cook’s 8 p.m. dinner reservation. The manager needed Freeman, who’d been nothing but clutch since joining the Anglers’ roster in late July, to shut the door on Y-D’s comeback hopes in order to ensure he wouldn’t be late for Tammy.
It didn’t start pretty — Freeman juiced the bags by issuing two walks and hitting another batter. But with one out and Costello at the plate, Freeman induced a lineout to first base, where Stallman snared the line drive and stepped on the bag while Y-D baserunner Jack Bell was off the base and promptly doubled off.
Freeman galloped toward the dugout, red in the face from his emphatic celebratory scream. Cook stood up and greeted the jacked-up Freeman, knowing the righty had escaped an utter meltdown with the result hanging in the balance.
Once the Anglers plated a pair of runs on Y-D’s Dean Carpentier in the top of the ninth, Cook could simply sit back, relax and decide on what he was going to order for dinner.
Prior to the game, Chatham’s first-year manager said he’d have to leave Red Wilson Field earlier than normal, because he was taking his spouse, Tammy Cook, out to dinner at 8 p.m. The Anglers have already been eliminated from the playoffs, so win or lose, it wasn’t like Cook had much of a reason to break into a long postgame diatribe.
There turned out to be no better evening that Cook could’ve picked for a date night. He got to treat his wife to a nice meal as a winner, a feeling the skipper hasn’t experienced too often this summer.
Chatham (16-20-3, East) defeated Yarmouth-Dennis (19-17-3, East) 7-4 Saturday at Red Wilson Field. The Anglers fought back from an early three-run deficit to keep the score locked at 4-4 for most of the contest, made possible by six innings of four-run ball from lefty starter Gavyn Jones (Oklahoma). But 2.1 shutout frames of relief from right-hander Caleb Freeman (Eastern Kentucky) and the A’s ability to capitalize on their free opportunities — Chatham took a whopping 13 walks on Saturday — allowed them to upset the Red Sox on the road.
Initially, it only took one inning for Cook to want to skip ahead to his dinner reservation. In the bottom of the first, Y-D center fielder Jayce Tharnish scored all the way from first base after a low pickoff throw from Jones was followed by errant tosses from first baseman Reed Stallman (Mississippi State) and left fielder Jake Hanley (Indiana).
“Jiminy Crickets,” Cook said in disgust; at that point, he’d run out of new phrases to utter.
From there, Cook started barking at home-plate umpire Will Bowers on the first chance he got. He couldn’t have envisioned a jubilant ending to take place a few hours later.
The Anglers and Red Sox engaged in a back and forth early on. Chatham matched its gaffe-ridden first inning with one run in the second, courtesy of Isaiah Lane (San Diego) smacking an RBI sacrifice fly. Then Jones experienced a setback in the bottom of the second, allowing three Y-D runs punctuated by a Nick Costello two-run homer.
But after Jones’ struggles, Red Sox reliever Trey Lawrence gifted Chatham a three-spot of its own in the top of the third. He struggled to find the zone, walking four batters and giving up one hit, registering just one out in the frame. Bases-loaded walks by Stallman and Roman Martin (UCLA) — as well as an RBI single off the wall from Chase Fralick (Auburn) — knotted the game at 4-4 after the top of the third.
The game settled in once the bottom of the third commenced. Jones shook off his turbulent start, firing four straight scoreless frames across the third through the sixth. Meanwhile, Yarmouth-Dennis righty Noah Bentley got through 2.2 innings without conceding a run after entering the game in Lawrence’s place.
In the sixth, the Anglers finally put Bentley on his heels. Trace Mazon (Coastal Carolina) and Hanley reached base via a hit by pitch and a walk, respectively, giving Chatham’s offense plenty of juice with no outs on the board. Yet, the Anglers’ baserunners wouldn’t even reach third, as Bentley struck out Cade Arrambide (LSU) and Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) before forcing a weak 5-3 groundout to Daniel Jackson (Georgia) to close the inning unscathed.
Before Cook trotted Jones out for a seventh inning of work, Chatham plated its first run of the night versus Bentley, driving in Fralick by drawing four consecutive free passes. Pitching with a newfound 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Jones instantly walked Costello in four pitches, eliciting Anglers pitching coach Jay Powell to swap him for right-hander Caleb Freeman (Eastern Kentucky). Freeman continued where Jones left off, retiring three of four Y-D batters to maintain the A’s one-run lead heading into the eighth.
After the seventh inning came to a close, the clock ticked just past 6:50 p.m. The game’s conclusion was beginning to encroach upon Cook’s 8 p.m. dinner reservation. The manager needed Freeman, who’d been nothing but clutch since joining the Anglers’ roster in late July, to shut the door on Y-D’s comeback hopes in order to ensure he wouldn’t be late for Tammy.
It didn’t start pretty — Freeman juiced the bags by issuing two walks and hitting another batter. But with one out and Costello at the plate, Freeman induced a lineout to first base, where Stallman snared the line drive and stepped on the bag while Y-D baserunner Jack Bell was off the base and promptly doubled off.
Freeman galloped toward the dugout, red in the face from his emphatic celebratory scream. Cook stood up and greeted the jacked-up Freeman, knowing the righty had escaped an utter meltdown with the result hanging in the balance.
Once the Anglers plated a pair of runs on Y-D’s Dean Carpentier in the top of the ninth, Cook could simply sit back, relax and decide on what he was going to order for dinner.
