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Chatham snaps 4-game win streak with rain-shortened eight-inning tie to Bourne
CHATHAM, Mass. — Heading into Sunday’s matchup at McKeon Park, the Chatham Anglers had not registered a four-game winning streak in Dennis Cook’s managerial tenure.
The A’s changed that in emphatic fashion, smacking 11 hits in a 9-1 road victory over Hyannis to secure their fourth straight win. It brought Chatham back to .500, cemented their place as the Cape’s best offense — at least statistically — and was the kind of performance that made it difficult to picture a game where the Anglers would struggle to put runs on the board again.
But then the A’s had an off-day. And evidently, that brief 24-hour respite was enough to grind the Anglers’ offense to a grinding halt — at least for six innings. In Chatham’s (4-4-1, East) return to Veterans Field Tuesday, the A’s tied Bourne (3-3-3, West) 2-2 in a rain-shortened, eight-inning contest. The Anglers didn’t have a hit until the eighth inning, and finished with just one hit on the day. Nonetheless, they picked up a semi-positive result on a day their bats didn’t stay hot.
In fact, their bats looked reminiscent of Yarmouth-Dennis’ bats to begin Angel Cervantes’ (UCLA) debut, when the Chatham righty carved through the Red Sox in five no-hit innings.
Coincidentally, Cervantes was on the mound again in this matchup. Making his second start of the season, he gave up a hit to Bourne’s first batter Tuesday, with Braves shortstop Rustan Rigdon (Vanderbilt) leading off the game with a single into right.
But Rigdon didn’t get anywhere except third base. Cervantes got Matt Bolton (Binghamton) to strike out soon after, and forced a groundout and pop out from Bourne’s next two batters to keep the game scoreless in the first.
Much like Bourne’s leadoff hitter, Rigdon, Rob Rispoli (UConn) got things started for Chatham by leading off the game with a walk and a steal of second. He, much like Rigdon, didn’t make it very far either, though. Andrew Costello (Wake Forest) threw him out trying to steal third, snuffing out Chatham’s first runner in scoring position.
The next inning followed a similar pattern. No one could score. Derrick Pitts (Cincinnati) walked for Bourne in the second, but never advanced past first, while the A’s were retired in order in the bottom of the frame.
Once the game got to the third, however, things got testy for Cervantes. Bourne right fielder John Stuetzer (Florida State) led off the frame by lining a single into left, and Bolton followed his effort up with a one-out single to put runners on first and second.
Then, facing Costello, Cervantes spiked a pitch into the dirt which skipped past Nolan Traeger (Arkansas) behind the plate, pushing the Braves’ baserunners to second and third. But he escaped the jam with two consecutive strikeouts, preserving his spotless 0.00 earned run average for the season.
It was the closest Cervantes got to allowing a run Tuesday, but after four innings of work, he exited the game without a Bourne run on the board. Unfortunately for him, just like his first start, the A’s offense wasn’t doing much to put runs on the board either.
Chatham’s offense entered the contest with the highest batting average in the Cape — a .257 mark — but simply couldn’t find that same level of success Tuesday. The Anglers went seven complete innings before they got their first hit.
After Cervantes was replaced by Mikey Ragusa (NC State), the A’s had two runners reach in the bottom of the fifth on walks, but neither scored off of Bourne starter Will Whelan (Minnesota). The righty threw five walks for the Braves, but offset them with six punchouts in his outing.
He did just enough to set Bourne up to break through. Ragusa began the top of the sixth with a walk to Andrew, balked to move him into scoring position, and walked a batter on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners. Then, Andrew’s brother, Luke Costello (Wake Forest), smacked a sacrifice fly to drive in Bourne’s first run, making it a 1-0 game.
Just then, the rain that had been waiting all day to descend upon Veterans Field finally started to come down hard. But there was no thunder or lightning, so the A’s were able to get through at least eight innings unscathed.
Bourne retired the side in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Rispoli and getting Connor Shouse (Texas Tech) and Bino Watters (LSU) to hit into soft outs. But Cooper Neville (Alabama) led off the seventh with a walk for Chatham, and after a Bourne pickoff throw sailed into right field, scored the A’s first run of the game before their first hit.
The next inning, Luke answered that run with a two-out, eighth-inning double into center off of Talan Bell (UCF) to launch himself into scoring position. Right after, Garrett Michel (Arizona State) smacked another double to plate Luke and put Bourne ahead.
But Chatham didn’t go quietly. Watters led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, and Shouse came through with the Anglers’ first hit of the game to score him and even it up at 2-2.
And that was all the A’s needed. In Chatham’s first four games, the Anglers couldn’t outscore their opponents on their best days. That’s why it took them until Game No. 5 to find a win. The script flipped over the past four games, and it brought the A’s within a game of a winning record.
They’ll have to wait another day to reach that goal.
The A’s changed that in emphatic fashion, smacking 11 hits in a 9-1 road victory over Hyannis to secure their fourth straight win. It brought Chatham back to .500, cemented their place as the Cape’s best offense — at least statistically — and was the kind of performance that made it difficult to picture a game where the Anglers would struggle to put runs on the board again.
But then the A’s had an off-day. And evidently, that brief 24-hour respite was enough to grind the Anglers’ offense to a grinding halt — at least for six innings. In Chatham’s (4-4-1, East) return to Veterans Field Tuesday, the A’s tied Bourne (3-3-3, West) 2-2 in a rain-shortened, eight-inning contest. The Anglers didn’t have a hit until the eighth inning, and finished with just one hit on the day. Nonetheless, they picked up a semi-positive result on a day their bats didn’t stay hot.
In fact, their bats looked reminiscent of Yarmouth-Dennis’ bats to begin Angel Cervantes’ (UCLA) debut, when the Chatham righty carved through the Red Sox in five no-hit innings.
Coincidentally, Cervantes was on the mound again in this matchup. Making his second start of the season, he gave up a hit to Bourne’s first batter Tuesday, with Braves shortstop Rustan Rigdon (Vanderbilt) leading off the game with a single into right.
But Rigdon didn’t get anywhere except third base. Cervantes got Matt Bolton (Binghamton) to strike out soon after, and forced a groundout and pop out from Bourne’s next two batters to keep the game scoreless in the first.
Much like Bourne’s leadoff hitter, Rigdon, Rob Rispoli (UConn) got things started for Chatham by leading off the game with a walk and a steal of second. He, much like Rigdon, didn’t make it very far either, though. Andrew Costello (Wake Forest) threw him out trying to steal third, snuffing out Chatham’s first runner in scoring position.
The next inning followed a similar pattern. No one could score. Derrick Pitts (Cincinnati) walked for Bourne in the second, but never advanced past first, while the A’s were retired in order in the bottom of the frame.
Once the game got to the third, however, things got testy for Cervantes. Bourne right fielder John Stuetzer (Florida State) led off the frame by lining a single into left, and Bolton followed his effort up with a one-out single to put runners on first and second.
Then, facing Costello, Cervantes spiked a pitch into the dirt which skipped past Nolan Traeger (Arkansas) behind the plate, pushing the Braves’ baserunners to second and third. But he escaped the jam with two consecutive strikeouts, preserving his spotless 0.00 earned run average for the season.
It was the closest Cervantes got to allowing a run Tuesday, but after four innings of work, he exited the game without a Bourne run on the board. Unfortunately for him, just like his first start, the A’s offense wasn’t doing much to put runs on the board either.
Chatham’s offense entered the contest with the highest batting average in the Cape — a .257 mark — but simply couldn’t find that same level of success Tuesday. The Anglers went seven complete innings before they got their first hit.
After Cervantes was replaced by Mikey Ragusa (NC State), the A’s had two runners reach in the bottom of the fifth on walks, but neither scored off of Bourne starter Will Whelan (Minnesota). The righty threw five walks for the Braves, but offset them with six punchouts in his outing.
He did just enough to set Bourne up to break through. Ragusa began the top of the sixth with a walk to Andrew, balked to move him into scoring position, and walked a batter on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners. Then, Andrew’s brother, Luke Costello (Wake Forest), smacked a sacrifice fly to drive in Bourne’s first run, making it a 1-0 game.
Just then, the rain that had been waiting all day to descend upon Veterans Field finally started to come down hard. But there was no thunder or lightning, so the A’s were able to get through at least eight innings unscathed.
Bourne retired the side in the bottom of the sixth, striking out Rispoli and getting Connor Shouse (Texas Tech) and Bino Watters (LSU) to hit into soft outs. But Cooper Neville (Alabama) led off the seventh with a walk for Chatham, and after a Bourne pickoff throw sailed into right field, scored the A’s first run of the game before their first hit.
The next inning, Luke answered that run with a two-out, eighth-inning double into center off of Talan Bell (UCF) to launch himself into scoring position. Right after, Garrett Michel (Arizona State) smacked another double to plate Luke and put Bourne ahead.
But Chatham didn’t go quietly. Watters led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, and Shouse came through with the Anglers’ first hit of the game to score him and even it up at 2-2.
And that was all the A’s needed. In Chatham’s first four games, the Anglers couldn’t outscore their opponents on their best days. That’s why it took them until Game No. 5 to find a win. The script flipped over the past four games, and it brought the A’s within a game of a winning record.
They’ll have to wait another day to reach that goal.
