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Chatham spoils Cervantes’ gem, gets one-hit in 3-2 loss to Harwich
HARWICH, Mass. — Angel Cervantes tends to rise to the occasion.
He proved that in the Big Ten Tournament, when — as a freshman — he tossed five shutout innings for UCLA against a red-hot Oregon offense. He proved that in his Cape League debut, too, when he threw five no-hit innings against a Yarmouth-Dennis squad that now towers over the rest of the CCBL. And he proved that on Fourth of July as well, when he led the A’s to an Independence Day victory with his family in attendance.
The stakes weren’t the same Saturday. His family’s been long gone, the holiday has as well. But Cervantes doesn’t need pressure to thrive. With or without it, the results remain the same.
“He's consistent,” Anglers manager Dennis Cook said postgame. “He's good every time out, so that's why he's an All-Star.”
Cervantes, fresh off his aforementioned selection to the CCBL All-Star Game, threw five innings for the first time since that aforementioned debut against Y-D, and he shoved. The righty kept Harwich off the board for five innings, limited the Mariners to four hits and struck out six. But his outing became an afterthought thanks to Chatham’s (10-11-2, East) hapless one-hit day, at the end of which the A’s were walked off by Harwich (14-9, East) in a 3-2 loss.
“I just don't think they executed worth a damn, honestly,” Cook said of his offense. “Too many strikeouts, too many swings and misses at balls that are not good pitches to hit.”
The numbers tend to agree with his assessment. Chatham’s bats struck out 17 times on the day, and six of those punchouts came looking. The Anglers were no-hit for a full nine innings, and only avoided the ignominious fate of getting held hitless because Rob Rispoli (UConn) — another newly-minted All-Star — broke the A’s drought in extras with an infield single.
There was one inning — the top of the first — where Chatham executed “worth a damn.” That’s the frame where Bino Watters (LSU) reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and scored on two wild pitches. For a moment, it seemed like that was all the Anglers would need.
Because Cervantes was on the mound. Chatham’s ace has been lights-out all summer, entering Saturday with one run allowed in 13.2 innings, and Harwich couldn’t buck that trend.
He began the game with a strikeout, after which backstop Eddie Marshall (Florida) tossed the ball into left field trying to send it around the horn. The brief interruption could’ve disrupted Cervantes’ momentum, but based on the results, it didn’t faze him in the slightest.
A fielding error was the only blemish on his otherwise spotless first inning.
“Obviously, I had a little rough first inning,” Cervantes said postgame.
He’s too humble. Harwich didn’t have a hit in the frame, and Cervantes struck out two of the four Mariners he faced. He punched out another two in the second, and finished his outing with six total across five innings of work. He had only gone four innings in his last two starts, but with a 70-pitch limit and 53 pitches through four, he was able to come out for the fifth.
It might’ve been the first time that Cervantes felt any sort of adversity in the contest. He gave up a leadoff single to Kevin Milewski (Mississippi State), who then moved all the way to third on consecutive sacrifice plays. Facing Colin Larson (Boston College) — who entered Saturday with the Cape’s best OPS — Cervantes settled down, battled to a full count and got him down swinging to end his outing.
Postgame, Cook said Cervantes has worked on his cutter, and he used it more against Harwich. The results would suggest he keep it in his arsenal — which Cervantes boasts now has “seven or eight” pitches. After the fifth, he leaned down, picked up Jerry — his miniature toy triceratops — and walked off, ending the inning just how he’d ended his previous four.
Scoreless.
“(Cervantes) threw a lot of strikes, competed hard,” Cook said. “Just like he does every time.”
Competing hard was something his bats couldn’t do. “Not competitive,” Cook said postgame, succinctly describing their approach. Jakob Schulz (Houston), Harwich’s starter, didn’t allow a hit. The lefty struck out six consecutive Anglers across the second, third and fourth innings, and he exited the game in the sixth with 10 strikeouts.
The Anglers loaded the bases in that aforementioned sixth, but allowed TJ Ziermann (UNC Wilmington) to strike them out three consecutive times to close the inning scoreless. They put another runner on third in the seventh, too, but Ziermann somehow weaved out of that jam with three more strikeouts.
For those keeping score at home, that brought the A’s punchout tally to 16. Their hit total?
Zero.
That futility rendered Cervantes’ outing useless. Tate Carey (Michigan) closed out a scoreless eighth inning on the mound for Chatham, and — with his bullpen short on rest — Cook wanted to give him a chance to ride it out. But the Wolverine walked Jackson Hotchkiss (Washington) to lead off the ninth, and that was enough for Cook.
“Once he got the leadoff walk, we had to make a move,” Cook said.
At least, until the rules dictated it wasn’t. After Carey had left the mound, Cook was informed he hadn’t met his three-batter minimum — which Cook believed did not apply, since Carey had finished the eighth — so he remained on the bump to strike out J.P. Peltier (Kentucky).
It didn’t inspire enough confidence for Cook to keep Carey in the game. Collins Black (NC State) entered after that. Milewski smacked a single into left off him — his third hit of the game — to score Hotchkiss and tie the game at 1-1. It sent the game to extras, where Chatham broke its no-hitter and took a 2-1 lead, but that wasn’t enough to win.
Larson began the inning by laying down a bunt to move the automatic runner to third. Castellon drove him in with an infield single, ensuring the game would either end in a Chatham loss or tie.
Hotchkiss ensured it would end in a loss. Facing Wyatt Nadeau (Vanderbilt), he worked his way to a full count. The A’s had just intentionally walked Cade Kurland (Florida), meaning there was a chance for them to give Hotchkiss a free pass and create a forceout at every base. But there were two outs on the board, and Cook wanted to give his reliever a chance to make his pitch.
He did. Hotchkiss hit it. Larson crossed the plate. And so much had transpired in the five innings since Cervantes left the game, his gem had practically become a distant memory.
“The guy made a good swing on (Nadeau’s) pitch,” Cook said. “You can't do nothing about that other than tip your hat.”
He proved that in the Big Ten Tournament, when — as a freshman — he tossed five shutout innings for UCLA against a red-hot Oregon offense. He proved that in his Cape League debut, too, when he threw five no-hit innings against a Yarmouth-Dennis squad that now towers over the rest of the CCBL. And he proved that on Fourth of July as well, when he led the A’s to an Independence Day victory with his family in attendance.
The stakes weren’t the same Saturday. His family’s been long gone, the holiday has as well. But Cervantes doesn’t need pressure to thrive. With or without it, the results remain the same.
“He's consistent,” Anglers manager Dennis Cook said postgame. “He's good every time out, so that's why he's an All-Star.”
Cervantes, fresh off his aforementioned selection to the CCBL All-Star Game, threw five innings for the first time since that aforementioned debut against Y-D, and he shoved. The righty kept Harwich off the board for five innings, limited the Mariners to four hits and struck out six. But his outing became an afterthought thanks to Chatham’s (10-11-2, East) hapless one-hit day, at the end of which the A’s were walked off by Harwich (14-9, East) in a 3-2 loss.
“I just don't think they executed worth a damn, honestly,” Cook said of his offense. “Too many strikeouts, too many swings and misses at balls that are not good pitches to hit.”
The numbers tend to agree with his assessment. Chatham’s bats struck out 17 times on the day, and six of those punchouts came looking. The Anglers were no-hit for a full nine innings, and only avoided the ignominious fate of getting held hitless because Rob Rispoli (UConn) — another newly-minted All-Star — broke the A’s drought in extras with an infield single.
There was one inning — the top of the first — where Chatham executed “worth a damn.” That’s the frame where Bino Watters (LSU) reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and scored on two wild pitches. For a moment, it seemed like that was all the Anglers would need.
Because Cervantes was on the mound. Chatham’s ace has been lights-out all summer, entering Saturday with one run allowed in 13.2 innings, and Harwich couldn’t buck that trend.
He began the game with a strikeout, after which backstop Eddie Marshall (Florida) tossed the ball into left field trying to send it around the horn. The brief interruption could’ve disrupted Cervantes’ momentum, but based on the results, it didn’t faze him in the slightest.
A fielding error was the only blemish on his otherwise spotless first inning.
“Obviously, I had a little rough first inning,” Cervantes said postgame.
He’s too humble. Harwich didn’t have a hit in the frame, and Cervantes struck out two of the four Mariners he faced. He punched out another two in the second, and finished his outing with six total across five innings of work. He had only gone four innings in his last two starts, but with a 70-pitch limit and 53 pitches through four, he was able to come out for the fifth.
It might’ve been the first time that Cervantes felt any sort of adversity in the contest. He gave up a leadoff single to Kevin Milewski (Mississippi State), who then moved all the way to third on consecutive sacrifice plays. Facing Colin Larson (Boston College) — who entered Saturday with the Cape’s best OPS — Cervantes settled down, battled to a full count and got him down swinging to end his outing.
Postgame, Cook said Cervantes has worked on his cutter, and he used it more against Harwich. The results would suggest he keep it in his arsenal — which Cervantes boasts now has “seven or eight” pitches. After the fifth, he leaned down, picked up Jerry — his miniature toy triceratops — and walked off, ending the inning just how he’d ended his previous four.
Scoreless.
“(Cervantes) threw a lot of strikes, competed hard,” Cook said. “Just like he does every time.”
Competing hard was something his bats couldn’t do. “Not competitive,” Cook said postgame, succinctly describing their approach. Jakob Schulz (Houston), Harwich’s starter, didn’t allow a hit. The lefty struck out six consecutive Anglers across the second, third and fourth innings, and he exited the game in the sixth with 10 strikeouts.
The Anglers loaded the bases in that aforementioned sixth, but allowed TJ Ziermann (UNC Wilmington) to strike them out three consecutive times to close the inning scoreless. They put another runner on third in the seventh, too, but Ziermann somehow weaved out of that jam with three more strikeouts.
For those keeping score at home, that brought the A’s punchout tally to 16. Their hit total?
Zero.
That futility rendered Cervantes’ outing useless. Tate Carey (Michigan) closed out a scoreless eighth inning on the mound for Chatham, and — with his bullpen short on rest — Cook wanted to give him a chance to ride it out. But the Wolverine walked Jackson Hotchkiss (Washington) to lead off the ninth, and that was enough for Cook.
“Once he got the leadoff walk, we had to make a move,” Cook said.
At least, until the rules dictated it wasn’t. After Carey had left the mound, Cook was informed he hadn’t met his three-batter minimum — which Cook believed did not apply, since Carey had finished the eighth — so he remained on the bump to strike out J.P. Peltier (Kentucky).
It didn’t inspire enough confidence for Cook to keep Carey in the game. Collins Black (NC State) entered after that. Milewski smacked a single into left off him — his third hit of the game — to score Hotchkiss and tie the game at 1-1. It sent the game to extras, where Chatham broke its no-hitter and took a 2-1 lead, but that wasn’t enough to win.
Larson began the inning by laying down a bunt to move the automatic runner to third. Castellon drove him in with an infield single, ensuring the game would either end in a Chatham loss or tie.
Hotchkiss ensured it would end in a loss. Facing Wyatt Nadeau (Vanderbilt), he worked his way to a full count. The A’s had just intentionally walked Cade Kurland (Florida), meaning there was a chance for them to give Hotchkiss a free pass and create a forceout at every base. But there were two outs on the board, and Cook wanted to give his reliever a chance to make his pitch.
He did. Hotchkiss hit it. Larson crossed the plate. And so much had transpired in the five innings since Cervantes left the game, his gem had practically become a distant memory.
“The guy made a good swing on (Nadeau’s) pitch,” Cook said. “You can't do nothing about that other than tip your hat.”
