Anglers News« Back to 2026 News |
Chatham overcomes Bino Watters’ absence to defeat Harwich 4-3
CHATHAM, Mass. — Bino Watters (LSU) was out of the lineup.
That’s about the worst news the Anglers possibly could have received in the hours following Saturday’s game, where the A’s thrashed Orleans 12-4 and moved nine points ahead of the Firebirds for fourth place in the East Division and a playoff spot. Chatham’s offense was clicking. It had smacked 13 hits Friday against Yarmouth-Dennis, and 15 against Orleans. Watters had been a big part of that, leading Chatham with his .333 batting average and .811 OPS.
But Watters had a sore back, so A’s manager Dennis Cook gave him the day off for the first time since he’d got here. The Anglers were going to have to go to battle without him when Harwich rolled into town Sunday. It wasn’t 15 hits, or even 13, but they fared just fine in his absence.
“We don't have a whole lot of options, so it wasn't too hard to write the lineup,” Cook said postgame. “But obviously, Bino's one of the best hitters in the league, and we want him in the lineup every day.”
Chatham’s (14-17-3, East) offense did enough to outpace Harwich (18-17, East) at Veterans Field, putting up nine hits in its dramatic 4-3 win over the Mariners. Armani Guzman (West Virginia) led the way with two hits and three runs batted in, Kaysen Raineri (Texas Tech) tossed four one-run innings in his start, and the A’s outlasted a late comeback from Harwich to secure their third straight win, winning on a walk-off wild pitch.
“We started off a little slow, but they battled and competed,” Cook said. “I'm proud of them.”
Harwich, conversely, didn’t start very slow at all. It took four pitches for Niko Brini (Wofford) to get the Mariners started. The Harwich leadoff man smacked Raineri’s offering over the right field fence, putting the Mariners up 1-0 in the first.
Raineri got out of the first with just the one scuff, despite allowing two more runners. It wasn’t anything new; Angel Cervantes (UCLA) had given up a first-inning run against Orleans Saturday, and Christian Chatterton (Auburn) had given up a first-inning run against Yarmouth-Dennis Friday.
The difference, in both of those cases, was that Chatham was able to score in the first to neutralize that threat, and plenty of runs followed for the A’s. That wasn’t the case Sunday.
Harwich starter Colin Lebel (George Washington) began his outing with three shutout innings. His Mariner teammates couldn’t reward him with some additional run support, but it wasn’t necessary then. One run would suffice for Lebel.
One run would suffice for Reese Oakley (Murray State), too, who replaced Lebel in the fourth and struck the side upon entering the game.
It wouldn’t suffice for Andrew Basel (Northeastern), though. The righty entered the game after the fifth. He got off to a much bumpier start to his outing than the arms who preceded him, walking Ty Peeples (Florida State) and giving up a bunt single to Cam Pruitt (Missouri). Two outs then followed before Jamie Palmese (Kansas) loaded the bases, grounding a slow chopper back to the mound that Basel couldn’t handle.
That brought Guzman to the plate with a golden opportunity. These were the kinds of chances Chatham had squandered before. Dennis Cook had lamented it all season. Loading the bases simply hadn’t yielded runs for his squad, whether it was zero outs, one out or two outs.
But then, with Guzman standing between Basel and a clean inning, they did. They finally did.
“I was fired up,” Cook said postgame. “We weren't swinging the bats great up until that, but it was a big hit, and Armani's a good player.”
The outfielder laced a double into left on the second pitch he faced, clearing the bases and giving the A’s their first lead of the game. Once he gave the A’s that 3-1 advantage, Leo Odom (Ole Miss) did everything in his power to hold onto it, tossing three scoreless innings in relief.
Brady Coe (Houston) came in after Odom, and he did his best impression of him, retiring the side in the top of the eighth to keep the Mariners off the board. But Coe’s ninth inning wasn’t as smooth. He began it by walking Sean O’Leary (UMass-Lowell), and was pulled for Collins Black (NC State) almost immediately afterward.
“We can't walk the leadoff hitter in the ninth inning, up by two runs,” Cook said postgame. “That just can't happen.”
Once Coe walked O’Leary, the decision was easy for Cook. If anything, his lone regret was that he didn’t bring Black out to begin the ninth, instead of giving him an inherited runner. Black began his outing with two outs, but then gave up a triple to Paul Jones II (Maryland), which made the game 3-2. Two batters later, he scampered home on a passed ball, tying it up at 3-3.
But a lineout ended the inning soon after, giving the Anglers a chance to walk it off.
They took full advantage of it. Pruitt helped those odds with a one-out single, and Tyler Howe’s (North Carolina) two-out single moved him over to third. Just like Jones a few minutes ago, Pruitt didn’t need Palmese to swing his bat to score.
A wild pitch did the trick for him.
Cook had seen his fair share of dramatics against Harwich. “I mean, it seems like every time we play these guys, we give up the lead,” Cook says. There was the July 11 matchup, where the A’s were no-hit through nine innings, still held a 1-0 lead, and ended up blowing it in an extra-inning 3-2 defeat. There was the July 5 matchup, too, where the Anglers had a 2-0 lead just to watch it evaporate with a walk-off walk at Whitehouse Field.
So, what was Cook feeling as he watched Pruitt exorcize the A’s demons against Harwich?
“Relief.”
That’s about the worst news the Anglers possibly could have received in the hours following Saturday’s game, where the A’s thrashed Orleans 12-4 and moved nine points ahead of the Firebirds for fourth place in the East Division and a playoff spot. Chatham’s offense was clicking. It had smacked 13 hits Friday against Yarmouth-Dennis, and 15 against Orleans. Watters had been a big part of that, leading Chatham with his .333 batting average and .811 OPS.
But Watters had a sore back, so A’s manager Dennis Cook gave him the day off for the first time since he’d got here. The Anglers were going to have to go to battle without him when Harwich rolled into town Sunday. It wasn’t 15 hits, or even 13, but they fared just fine in his absence.
“We don't have a whole lot of options, so it wasn't too hard to write the lineup,” Cook said postgame. “But obviously, Bino's one of the best hitters in the league, and we want him in the lineup every day.”
Chatham’s (14-17-3, East) offense did enough to outpace Harwich (18-17, East) at Veterans Field, putting up nine hits in its dramatic 4-3 win over the Mariners. Armani Guzman (West Virginia) led the way with two hits and three runs batted in, Kaysen Raineri (Texas Tech) tossed four one-run innings in his start, and the A’s outlasted a late comeback from Harwich to secure their third straight win, winning on a walk-off wild pitch.
“We started off a little slow, but they battled and competed,” Cook said. “I'm proud of them.”
Harwich, conversely, didn’t start very slow at all. It took four pitches for Niko Brini (Wofford) to get the Mariners started. The Harwich leadoff man smacked Raineri’s offering over the right field fence, putting the Mariners up 1-0 in the first.
Raineri got out of the first with just the one scuff, despite allowing two more runners. It wasn’t anything new; Angel Cervantes (UCLA) had given up a first-inning run against Orleans Saturday, and Christian Chatterton (Auburn) had given up a first-inning run against Yarmouth-Dennis Friday.
The difference, in both of those cases, was that Chatham was able to score in the first to neutralize that threat, and plenty of runs followed for the A’s. That wasn’t the case Sunday.
Harwich starter Colin Lebel (George Washington) began his outing with three shutout innings. His Mariner teammates couldn’t reward him with some additional run support, but it wasn’t necessary then. One run would suffice for Lebel.
One run would suffice for Reese Oakley (Murray State), too, who replaced Lebel in the fourth and struck the side upon entering the game.
It wouldn’t suffice for Andrew Basel (Northeastern), though. The righty entered the game after the fifth. He got off to a much bumpier start to his outing than the arms who preceded him, walking Ty Peeples (Florida State) and giving up a bunt single to Cam Pruitt (Missouri). Two outs then followed before Jamie Palmese (Kansas) loaded the bases, grounding a slow chopper back to the mound that Basel couldn’t handle.
That brought Guzman to the plate with a golden opportunity. These were the kinds of chances Chatham had squandered before. Dennis Cook had lamented it all season. Loading the bases simply hadn’t yielded runs for his squad, whether it was zero outs, one out or two outs.
But then, with Guzman standing between Basel and a clean inning, they did. They finally did.
“I was fired up,” Cook said postgame. “We weren't swinging the bats great up until that, but it was a big hit, and Armani's a good player.”
The outfielder laced a double into left on the second pitch he faced, clearing the bases and giving the A’s their first lead of the game. Once he gave the A’s that 3-1 advantage, Leo Odom (Ole Miss) did everything in his power to hold onto it, tossing three scoreless innings in relief.
Brady Coe (Houston) came in after Odom, and he did his best impression of him, retiring the side in the top of the eighth to keep the Mariners off the board. But Coe’s ninth inning wasn’t as smooth. He began it by walking Sean O’Leary (UMass-Lowell), and was pulled for Collins Black (NC State) almost immediately afterward.
“We can't walk the leadoff hitter in the ninth inning, up by two runs,” Cook said postgame. “That just can't happen.”
Once Coe walked O’Leary, the decision was easy for Cook. If anything, his lone regret was that he didn’t bring Black out to begin the ninth, instead of giving him an inherited runner. Black began his outing with two outs, but then gave up a triple to Paul Jones II (Maryland), which made the game 3-2. Two batters later, he scampered home on a passed ball, tying it up at 3-3.
But a lineout ended the inning soon after, giving the Anglers a chance to walk it off.
They took full advantage of it. Pruitt helped those odds with a one-out single, and Tyler Howe’s (North Carolina) two-out single moved him over to third. Just like Jones a few minutes ago, Pruitt didn’t need Palmese to swing his bat to score.
A wild pitch did the trick for him.
Cook had seen his fair share of dramatics against Harwich. “I mean, it seems like every time we play these guys, we give up the lead,” Cook says. There was the July 11 matchup, where the A’s were no-hit through nine innings, still held a 1-0 lead, and ended up blowing it in an extra-inning 3-2 defeat. There was the July 5 matchup, too, where the Anglers had a 2-0 lead just to watch it evaporate with a walk-off walk at Whitehouse Field.
So, what was Cook feeling as he watched Pruitt exorcize the A’s demons against Harwich?
“Relief.”
