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Game 27 Preview: Chatham vs. Bourne
CHATHAM, Mass. — The Anglers have sunk to a new season-low.
Dennis Cook’s squad got off to a brutal start to its summer, dropping four consecutive games to open its season, but Chatham figured itself out before the skid got to five. Twenty-one games later, mired in a similar losing skid, the A’s couldn’t make history repeat itself.
Taking on Hyannis at McKeon Park, Chatham saw its losing skid stretch to a season-worst five games. The Anglers held a lead up until the eighth, but gave up five runs in that frame and got handed a 6-2 defeat.
With no off-day in sight until the All-Star Break, Chatham has nothing but chances to snap that skid. Their next one comes against Bourne at Veterans Field. Here’s everything to know before Chatham (10-14-2, East) hosts the Braves (13-10-3, West) Tuesday.
After his last outing — a shutout, 4.1-inning relief appearance against Wareham — Anglers manager Dennis Cook said that Terry Hayes Jr. (Mississippi) would be taking a turn in the rotation in the future. That turn is now here. Hayes has made two appearances for the A’s thus far, tossing 6.1 innings, and he now sports a 4.26 earned run average. Perhaps more impressively, he’s walked one batter and struck out seven in those innings.
Like Hayes, Brandon Shannon (Louisville) did not begin his summer in Bourne’s rotation. But he’s firmly in it now, and is set to make his second start of the season for the Braves against Chatham. But unlike Hayes, Shannon’s been a little shaky on the mound. He’s tossed 13.1 innings for Bourne, walked eight hitters and plunked four more in his outings. That lack of command is a significant contributor to his 6.08 ERA thus far.
Andrew Costello (South Carolina) has had eyes on him all summer. After all, he’s the hot-shot freshman catcher from Wake Forest who once held the highest OPS in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then transferred from Wake to South Carolina mid-summer. He’s tailed off slightly since then, but he still leads the Braves with a .337 batting average, .947 OPS and 28 hits.
Costello’s barely in the lead for hits, though, thanks to Blake Schaaf (Wake Forest), who places second with 27 knocks. The Bourne second baseman narrowly trails Costello in most offensive categories. He has has a .321 batting average and has a .876 OPS to pair with the 27 hits.
This weekend, Junior Lauaki (Georgia) will be appearing in the Cape League’s Home Run Contest at the Harwich Mariners’ Whitehouse Field. Evidently, Lauaki has been practicing for it, because he’s crushed two bombs in his past three games. The first came against Orleans at Veterans Field, and the second came Wednesday at Hyannis’ McKeon Park. The latter was a no-doubter, too; Lauaki even paused to observe it before he began his trot.
Jamie Palmese (Kansas) hadn’t been prominently featured in Chatham’s lineup as much before Wednesday, but he got back in the mix at McKeon Park. Rob Rispoli (UConn) departed the Cape after the A’s lost to Yarmouth-Dennis, and Palmese was the one who slid into the hole he left in the leadoff spot. He reached twice in his four at bats against Hyannis, smacking a single and drawing a walk.
There is only one number for Anglers fans to know now. It’s five, a number representing Chatham’s current losing skid.
The A’s season-opening four-game losing streak wasn’t pretty, but things got better as players such as Connor Shouse (Texas Tech) and Gabe Fraser (Florida State) settled into their roles on the Cape. Those faces are now gone. All Chatham has now is a completely fresh lineup. It’s up to them to dig out of a season-worst five-game losing streak.
When Chatham last faced Bourne on July 8, it was an uphill climb from the outset. Cook was informed by Bourne manager Scott Landers that Doran Park would not be ready for pregame batting practice, due to the previous day’s inclement weather, so the Anglers had to practice at Veterans Field before making the trek to Bourne. Due to traffic, the A’s barely made it to Doran Park in time for the contest.
But they did, and were handed a 9-2 loss for their troubles. Chatham held a 1-0 lead for most of the game, and Oliver Pudvar (UConn) looked strong in his start with five shutout innings. Things just went off the rails once the A’s went to their bullpen. They gave up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and allowed Bourne to tack on six more runs two innings later.
Dennis Cook’s squad got off to a brutal start to its summer, dropping four consecutive games to open its season, but Chatham figured itself out before the skid got to five. Twenty-one games later, mired in a similar losing skid, the A’s couldn’t make history repeat itself.
Taking on Hyannis at McKeon Park, Chatham saw its losing skid stretch to a season-worst five games. The Anglers held a lead up until the eighth, but gave up five runs in that frame and got handed a 6-2 defeat.
With no off-day in sight until the All-Star Break, Chatham has nothing but chances to snap that skid. Their next one comes against Bourne at Veterans Field. Here’s everything to know before Chatham (10-14-2, East) hosts the Braves (13-10-3, West) Tuesday.
Probable Starters
After his last outing — a shutout, 4.1-inning relief appearance against Wareham — Anglers manager Dennis Cook said that Terry Hayes Jr. (Mississippi) would be taking a turn in the rotation in the future. That turn is now here. Hayes has made two appearances for the A’s thus far, tossing 6.1 innings, and he now sports a 4.26 earned run average. Perhaps more impressively, he’s walked one batter and struck out seven in those innings.
Like Hayes, Brandon Shannon (Louisville) did not begin his summer in Bourne’s rotation. But he’s firmly in it now, and is set to make his second start of the season for the Braves against Chatham. But unlike Hayes, Shannon’s been a little shaky on the mound. He’s tossed 13.1 innings for Bourne, walked eight hitters and plunked four more in his outings. That lack of command is a significant contributor to his 6.08 ERA thus far.
Bourne Players To Watch
Andrew Costello (South Carolina) has had eyes on him all summer. After all, he’s the hot-shot freshman catcher from Wake Forest who once held the highest OPS in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and then transferred from Wake to South Carolina mid-summer. He’s tailed off slightly since then, but he still leads the Braves with a .337 batting average, .947 OPS and 28 hits.
Costello’s barely in the lead for hits, though, thanks to Blake Schaaf (Wake Forest), who places second with 27 knocks. The Bourne second baseman narrowly trails Costello in most offensive categories. He has has a .321 batting average and has a .876 OPS to pair with the 27 hits.
Chatham Players To Watch
This weekend, Junior Lauaki (Georgia) will be appearing in the Cape League’s Home Run Contest at the Harwich Mariners’ Whitehouse Field. Evidently, Lauaki has been practicing for it, because he’s crushed two bombs in his past three games. The first came against Orleans at Veterans Field, and the second came Wednesday at Hyannis’ McKeon Park. The latter was a no-doubter, too; Lauaki even paused to observe it before he began his trot.
Jamie Palmese (Kansas) hadn’t been prominently featured in Chatham’s lineup as much before Wednesday, but he got back in the mix at McKeon Park. Rob Rispoli (UConn) departed the Cape after the A’s lost to Yarmouth-Dennis, and Palmese was the one who slid into the hole he left in the leadoff spot. He reached twice in his four at bats against Hyannis, smacking a single and drawing a walk.
Number To Know: 5
There is only one number for Anglers fans to know now. It’s five, a number representing Chatham’s current losing skid.
The A’s season-opening four-game losing streak wasn’t pretty, but things got better as players such as Connor Shouse (Texas Tech) and Gabe Fraser (Florida State) settled into their roles on the Cape. Those faces are now gone. All Chatham has now is a completely fresh lineup. It’s up to them to dig out of a season-worst five-game losing streak.
Last Time They Played
When Chatham last faced Bourne on July 8, it was an uphill climb from the outset. Cook was informed by Bourne manager Scott Landers that Doran Park would not be ready for pregame batting practice, due to the previous day’s inclement weather, so the Anglers had to practice at Veterans Field before making the trek to Bourne. Due to traffic, the A’s barely made it to Doran Park in time for the contest.
But they did, and were handed a 9-2 loss for their troubles. Chatham held a 1-0 lead for most of the game, and Oliver Pudvar (UConn) looked strong in his start with five shutout innings. Things just went off the rails once the A’s went to their bullpen. They gave up three runs in the bottom of the sixth, and allowed Bourne to tack on six more runs two innings later.
