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Chatham rides dominant pitching performance to 2-0 win over Wareham
WAREHAM, Mass. — Jack Gleason (Mississippi State) wasn’t supposed to get the ball. Originally, Colin Fisher (Arkansas) was supposed to instead.
The A’s lefty was penciled in to get the start against the Gatemen Sunday. But since he was occupied at the MLB Draft Combine and didn't return to Chatham until this morning, he was pulled in favor of Gleason.
“We made it yesterday,” Cook said, referring to the decision. “Because Colin was at the Combine, and he wasn't going to get back into Chatham until 10 o'clock this morning.”
It’s hard to argue with the results. Gleason tossed three scoreless innings in Chatham’s (6-5-1, East) 2-0 win over Wareham (3-9, West), striking out three and giving up just one hit in his outing. He set the tone for a dominant pitching performance from the Anglers, where the Gatemen struck out 15 times and managed just four hits on the day, and the A’s secured their first shutout win of the season.
“We really thought, coming in, it was going to be a tough night just because of the pitching situation,” Cook said postgame. “But the guys stepped up and did a great job.”
The first inning was a breeze for both sides. Jordan Stephens (South Carolina) began his outing by striking out Armani Guzman (West Virginia). It didn’t take very long, either — only four pitches. Stephens’ next strikeout — Cole Johnson (Georgia), the victim — was even shorter, just three pitches this time, and it ended a scoreless top of the first for Wareham’s starter.
Chatham righty Gleason got off to a similarly strong start, though with just one punchout to Stephens’ two. It took him just 10 pitches to retire the side.
And Gleason didn’t have to grapple with much of a threat in his second frame, either. The first inning ended in 10 pitches for him, and the second ended in eight. A flyout, groundout and strikeout helped him open the game with a second perfect inning.
He couldn’t get a third, though. After Stephens struck out two Anglers in a scoreless third inning of work, Gleason led off the bottom of the frame by giving up a double to Nate Novitske (Arizona), which broke up his perfect game bid. But, much like Traeger’s extra-base hit an inning before, Novitske’s liner into center didn’t yield anything on the scoreboard.
Gleason recovered to strikeout Caleb Barnett (Alabama). Then, Foster Apple (Stetson) grounded out to Rob Rispoli (UConn) at second. And, as if the A’s second baseman hadn’t received enough shine, he ended the inning by making a nifty play on a grounder from Henry DiGiorgio (Northeastern), throwing out Wareham’s shortstop just before Novitske could score.
It was then that Chatham broke through.
A’s outfielder Bino Watters (LSU) had smacked plenty of hard-hit balls in his 10-game stint in Chatham, but he hadn’t hit one over the fences yet. He wasn’t alone; Cooper Neville (Alabama), Gabe Fraser (Florida State/Transfer) and Korbin Reynolds (Vanderbilt) were the only A’s with homers entering Sunday.
“He's hit a whole bunch of balls hard, just hadn't hit with a lot of luck,” Cook said postgame. “Hitters hit, and he's a hitter.”
A hitter he is, indeed. It took Watters just one pitch to add his name to that list. In the fourth inning, he crushed a solo long ball to right on the first pitch he saw from Stephens.
Two batters later, Stephens exited the game with 3.2 one-run innings under his belt. He was replaced by Jaden Barfield (Oklahoma), who struck out Traeger to end the fourth for Chatham, but the A’s still left the inning with a 1-0 lead to hold onto.
And Max Luzarraga (Dallas Baptist) did a mighty fine job of holding onto it. After replacing Gleason, the A’s reliever gave up a leadoff single to begin the fourth, but struck out two of the next three batters to keep the Gatemen off the board.
“(Gleason) probably could have gone another inning,” Cook said postgame. “But we're not going to hurt him or push him.”
Barfield couldn’t do the same in the fifth. He began the inning with walks to Reynolds and Hovater, and after two consecutive sacrifice flies, the former scored to double Chatham’s lead.
No one else crossed the plate for the A’s, but no one else crossed the plate for Wareham, either. Luzarraga struck out the side in the fifth, bringing him up to five strikeouts in two scoreless innings of relief work. Levi Clark (Tennessee) got a hit off him in the sixth, and moved to scoring position on a stolen base, but Luzarraga induced several soft outs to end the inning unscathed.
He left the game before the seventh, replaced by Gavin DeVooght (Michigan), but the change in pitcher didn’t do much to change Wareham’s luck. DeVooght struck out the first two batters he faced, and then induced a groundout from Novitske to close the seventh.
DeVooght got into trouble in the eighth, walking two and getting replaced by Josh Swink (Liberty), but the lefty struckout Coen Niclai (Arizona State) to end the frame. After giving up two baserunners in the ninth, Swink was replaced by Angel Cervantes (UCLA), and Chatham’s ace shut the door on Wareham’s comeback attempt.
“I was happy with the way all the pitchers threw,” Cook said. “We did a great job. Anytime you put up a zero, you got a good chance of winning.”
The last time Chatham played at Spillane Field, its pitching staff gave up seven runs to a Wareham squad that had been shutout in both of its first two games. This time around, the Anglers were the ones who were shutting out Wareham.
The A’s have grown a lot in this young season. Sunday was just the latest example.
“I think the longer they stay, the better they're going to be,” Cook said of his pitchers.
The A’s lefty was penciled in to get the start against the Gatemen Sunday. But since he was occupied at the MLB Draft Combine and didn't return to Chatham until this morning, he was pulled in favor of Gleason.
“We made it yesterday,” Cook said, referring to the decision. “Because Colin was at the Combine, and he wasn't going to get back into Chatham until 10 o'clock this morning.”
It’s hard to argue with the results. Gleason tossed three scoreless innings in Chatham’s (6-5-1, East) 2-0 win over Wareham (3-9, West), striking out three and giving up just one hit in his outing. He set the tone for a dominant pitching performance from the Anglers, where the Gatemen struck out 15 times and managed just four hits on the day, and the A’s secured their first shutout win of the season.
“We really thought, coming in, it was going to be a tough night just because of the pitching situation,” Cook said postgame. “But the guys stepped up and did a great job.”
The first inning was a breeze for both sides. Jordan Stephens (South Carolina) began his outing by striking out Armani Guzman (West Virginia). It didn’t take very long, either — only four pitches. Stephens’ next strikeout — Cole Johnson (Georgia), the victim — was even shorter, just three pitches this time, and it ended a scoreless top of the first for Wareham’s starter.
Chatham righty Gleason got off to a similarly strong start, though with just one punchout to Stephens’ two. It took him just 10 pitches to retire the side.
And Gleason didn’t have to grapple with much of a threat in his second frame, either. The first inning ended in 10 pitches for him, and the second ended in eight. A flyout, groundout and strikeout helped him open the game with a second perfect inning.
He couldn’t get a third, though. After Stephens struck out two Anglers in a scoreless third inning of work, Gleason led off the bottom of the frame by giving up a double to Nate Novitske (Arizona), which broke up his perfect game bid. But, much like Traeger’s extra-base hit an inning before, Novitske’s liner into center didn’t yield anything on the scoreboard.
Gleason recovered to strikeout Caleb Barnett (Alabama). Then, Foster Apple (Stetson) grounded out to Rob Rispoli (UConn) at second. And, as if the A’s second baseman hadn’t received enough shine, he ended the inning by making a nifty play on a grounder from Henry DiGiorgio (Northeastern), throwing out Wareham’s shortstop just before Novitske could score.
It was then that Chatham broke through.
A’s outfielder Bino Watters (LSU) had smacked plenty of hard-hit balls in his 10-game stint in Chatham, but he hadn’t hit one over the fences yet. He wasn’t alone; Cooper Neville (Alabama), Gabe Fraser (Florida State/Transfer) and Korbin Reynolds (Vanderbilt) were the only A’s with homers entering Sunday.
“He's hit a whole bunch of balls hard, just hadn't hit with a lot of luck,” Cook said postgame. “Hitters hit, and he's a hitter.”
A hitter he is, indeed. It took Watters just one pitch to add his name to that list. In the fourth inning, he crushed a solo long ball to right on the first pitch he saw from Stephens.
Two batters later, Stephens exited the game with 3.2 one-run innings under his belt. He was replaced by Jaden Barfield (Oklahoma), who struck out Traeger to end the fourth for Chatham, but the A’s still left the inning with a 1-0 lead to hold onto.
And Max Luzarraga (Dallas Baptist) did a mighty fine job of holding onto it. After replacing Gleason, the A’s reliever gave up a leadoff single to begin the fourth, but struck out two of the next three batters to keep the Gatemen off the board.
“(Gleason) probably could have gone another inning,” Cook said postgame. “But we're not going to hurt him or push him.”
Barfield couldn’t do the same in the fifth. He began the inning with walks to Reynolds and Hovater, and after two consecutive sacrifice flies, the former scored to double Chatham’s lead.
No one else crossed the plate for the A’s, but no one else crossed the plate for Wareham, either. Luzarraga struck out the side in the fifth, bringing him up to five strikeouts in two scoreless innings of relief work. Levi Clark (Tennessee) got a hit off him in the sixth, and moved to scoring position on a stolen base, but Luzarraga induced several soft outs to end the inning unscathed.
He left the game before the seventh, replaced by Gavin DeVooght (Michigan), but the change in pitcher didn’t do much to change Wareham’s luck. DeVooght struck out the first two batters he faced, and then induced a groundout from Novitske to close the seventh.
DeVooght got into trouble in the eighth, walking two and getting replaced by Josh Swink (Liberty), but the lefty struckout Coen Niclai (Arizona State) to end the frame. After giving up two baserunners in the ninth, Swink was replaced by Angel Cervantes (UCLA), and Chatham’s ace shut the door on Wareham’s comeback attempt.
“I was happy with the way all the pitchers threw,” Cook said. “We did a great job. Anytime you put up a zero, you got a good chance of winning.”
The last time Chatham played at Spillane Field, its pitching staff gave up seven runs to a Wareham squad that had been shutout in both of its first two games. This time around, the Anglers were the ones who were shutting out Wareham.
The A’s have grown a lot in this young season. Sunday was just the latest example.
“I think the longer they stay, the better they're going to be,” Cook said of his pitchers.
