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Counting down Chatham’s top 5 moments of 2026 campaign
CHATHAM, Mass. — The Anglers’ 2026 season is over. With Thursday’s loss to Yarmouth-Dennis in Game 3 of the East Division Series, the A’s season ended short of the East Division Championship Series for the eighth season in a row.
But there were plenty of positives to take away. Chatham reached the postseason for the first time in two seasons, and picked up its first playoff win since 2018. The A’s welcomed 62 total players throughout the summer, two of whom took home league-wide end-of-season honors.
“It was a great group of kids,” A’s manager Dennis Cook said. “We pushed them hard, and they played hard.”
In all, it made for a memorable campaign full of special moments. Here are Chatham’s top five from the 2026 summer:
As Nolan Traeger's two-run homer cleared the right field fence against Cotuit, the lights went out at Veterans Field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
In its first game of July, Chatham returned to Veterans Field after two straight winless days. The A’s blew a seven-run lead in the eighth inning in a June 30 loss to Brewster on before blowing a five-run lead in a tie against Yarmouth-Dennis on June 31. And after they fell behind by three runs early against Cotuit, the Anglers were in desperate need of a spark.
They got it in the sixth inning. Chatham catcher Nolan Traeger (Arkansas) blasted a two-run homer over the right field wall, cutting the deficit to one run. Within seconds of the ball leaving the yard, lights shut off over Veterans Field.
“I've never seen anything like that,” Traeger said postgame. "I thought it was gonna be a cool light show.”
In fact, it was not. Veterans Field lost power, part of citywide outages in early July. The game entered a 20-minute darkness delay before the lights flickered back on. And, when play resumed, Chatham’s bats had some extra energy.
Traeger launched another home run in the eighth — this time a go-ahead three-run shot to put Chatham up 5-3. Harlin Hovater (Mississippi State) followed suit soon after, blasting his first homer of the summer to secure the A’s win.
Some postponements due to inclement weather throughout the Cape caused the A’s to play five games in the final three days of the regular season. In the first of those five games — an 11:30 a.m. start against Brewster on July 31 — the A’s achieved something they haven’t in a while.
Needing either a win of their own or an Orleans loss to secure a playoff berth, Chatham came to Stony Brook Field to take on a red-hot Brewster squad pushing for the East Division’s top seed. And the Anglers jumped all over the Whitecaps.
Chatham pounced for two runs in the first inning before exploding for six in the fourth, including RBI singles from Jamie Palmese (Kansas) and Armani Guzman (West Virginia). The Anglers added another run in the sixth off a wild pitch, while A’s pitchers Wyatt Nadeau (Vanderbilt), Kaysen Raineri (Texas Tech) and Tate Carey (Michigan) helped shut out Brewster in the seven-inning contest.
It clinched Chatham’s first trip to the postseason since 2024.
Moments after Junior Lauaki's walk-off homer in Chatham's 4-3 win over Bourne, Wyatt Nadeau holds up Lauaki's game-worn No. 13 jersey in celebration. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
When Chatham returned to Veterans Field for a matchup against the eventual West Division champion Bourne Braves, the A’s were reeling. Chatham had lost each of its last five contests, dropping four games under .500 with the season’s home stretch coming up.
Once the A’s fell behind 2-0 in the second inning, it looked like that trend might continue. But Chatham battled back and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth before allowing Bourne to tie the game in the eighth. The A’s put the potential go-ahead run on third in the bottom of the frame, but couldn’t get him home and sent the game to the ninth tied.
Junior Lauaki (Georgia) stepped in with one out in the bottom of the ninth for Chatham. Lauaki had already hit two home runs in his first few games with the A’s. And when Bourne reliever Connor Lehman threw a fastball that got a bit too much of the plate, Lauaki added another with a solo shot halfway up the hill in right field. He knew it was gone right off the bat.
“He's got tremendous power,” Cook said of Lauaki. “It's real. The power is real.”
The blast — one of just two A’s walkoffs this year — marked a crucial turning point in the season. Chatham won eight of its last 13 games of the year after the walkoff, helping clinch a playoff spot.
Angel Cervantes (center-right) was given the Cape League's B.F.C. Whitehouse Outstanding Pitcher award, becoming the first Angler to win the award since 2013. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
Prior to Chatham’s home playoff game against Y-D on Aug. 5, league-wide awards were handed out on the grass at Veterans Field. Chatham righty Angel Cervantes (UCLA) was awarded the CCBL’s B.F.C. Whitehouse Outstanding Pitcher award, making him the 13th Chatham player and first Angler since 2013 to take home the award.
Cervantes took the Cape League by storm in his first summer with the A’s. The righty made six starts and one relief appearance for Chatham, pitching to a league-best 1.05 earned run average in 25.2 innings during the regular season. He allowed just 16 hits and three earned runs in that span while striking out 25 batters and issuing just five walks.
Cervantes was also awarded Chatham’s Ed Baird Most Outstanding Pitcher award, while Bino Watters (LSU) took home Chatham’s Thurman Munson Most Outstanding Position Player award, and Rispoli and Oliver Pudvar (UConn) took home the A’s Eddie Lyons Coach’s Award. Rispoli was additionally given the Cape League’s Daniel J. Silva Sportsmanship Award, given annually from umpires to one CCBL player.
It was the first time since 2013 that multiple A’s players took home league-wide awards.
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Collins Black (No. 12) closed out Chatham's 9-5 win over Yarmouth-Dennis on Aug. 4 — the A's first playoff victory since 2018. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
The playoffs are all about who gets hot, and Chatham entered its first playoff run since 2024 as hot as ever. The A’s won eight of their last nine games of the regular season, booking a matchup with No. 1 seed Yarmouth-Dennis in the first round.
In Game 1, the Anglers stayed scorching hot. Chatham clobbered three home runs and 14 hits, leading to a 9-5 win over the Red Sox. It was the A’s first playoff win since 2018.
Guzman got the scoring started for the Anglers in the third inning, when he demolished a two-run homer over the center field fence. Eddie Marshall (Florida) then roped a double off the wall to plate Chatham’s third run. Hovater and Tyler Howe (North Carolina) both mashed fifth-inning home runs, which scored three more runs for the A’s. Cervantes held it down on the bump for Chatham, allowing just three runs in his first playoff start.
And, with that, Chatham secured its first playoff win in the 2020s.
But there were plenty of positives to take away. Chatham reached the postseason for the first time in two seasons, and picked up its first playoff win since 2018. The A’s welcomed 62 total players throughout the summer, two of whom took home league-wide end-of-season honors.
“It was a great group of kids,” A’s manager Dennis Cook said. “We pushed them hard, and they played hard.”
In all, it made for a memorable campaign full of special moments. Here are Chatham’s top five from the 2026 summer:
5. A’s hit the lights out against Cotuit (July 1)
As Nolan Traeger's two-run homer cleared the right field fence against Cotuit, the lights went out at Veterans Field in the bottom of the fifth inning. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
In its first game of July, Chatham returned to Veterans Field after two straight winless days. The A’s blew a seven-run lead in the eighth inning in a June 30 loss to Brewster on before blowing a five-run lead in a tie against Yarmouth-Dennis on June 31. And after they fell behind by three runs early against Cotuit, the Anglers were in desperate need of a spark.
They got it in the sixth inning. Chatham catcher Nolan Traeger (Arkansas) blasted a two-run homer over the right field wall, cutting the deficit to one run. Within seconds of the ball leaving the yard, lights shut off over Veterans Field.
“I've never seen anything like that,” Traeger said postgame. "I thought it was gonna be a cool light show.”
In fact, it was not. Veterans Field lost power, part of citywide outages in early July. The game entered a 20-minute darkness delay before the lights flickered back on. And, when play resumed, Chatham’s bats had some extra energy.
Traeger launched another home run in the eighth — this time a go-ahead three-run shot to put Chatham up 5-3. Harlin Hovater (Mississippi State) followed suit soon after, blasting his first homer of the summer to secure the A’s win.
4. Chatham thumps Brewster 9-0 to clinch playoff berth (July 31)
Some postponements due to inclement weather throughout the Cape caused the A’s to play five games in the final three days of the regular season. In the first of those five games — an 11:30 a.m. start against Brewster on July 31 — the A’s achieved something they haven’t in a while.
Needing either a win of their own or an Orleans loss to secure a playoff berth, Chatham came to Stony Brook Field to take on a red-hot Brewster squad pushing for the East Division’s top seed. And the Anglers jumped all over the Whitecaps.
Chatham pounced for two runs in the first inning before exploding for six in the fourth, including RBI singles from Jamie Palmese (Kansas) and Armani Guzman (West Virginia). The Anglers added another run in the sixth off a wild pitch, while A’s pitchers Wyatt Nadeau (Vanderbilt), Kaysen Raineri (Texas Tech) and Tate Carey (Michigan) helped shut out Brewster in the seven-inning contest.
It clinched Chatham’s first trip to the postseason since 2024.
3. Junior Lauaki blasts walk-off home run against Bourne (July 16)
Moments after Junior Lauaki's walk-off homer in Chatham's 4-3 win over Bourne, Wyatt Nadeau holds up Lauaki's game-worn No. 13 jersey in celebration. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
Once the A’s fell behind 2-0 in the second inning, it looked like that trend might continue. But Chatham battled back and took a 3-2 lead in the fourth before allowing Bourne to tie the game in the eighth. The A’s put the potential go-ahead run on third in the bottom of the frame, but couldn’t get him home and sent the game to the ninth tied.
Junior Lauaki (Georgia) stepped in with one out in the bottom of the ninth for Chatham. Lauaki had already hit two home runs in his first few games with the A’s. And when Bourne reliever Connor Lehman threw a fastball that got a bit too much of the plate, Lauaki added another with a solo shot halfway up the hill in right field. He knew it was gone right off the bat.
“He's got tremendous power,” Cook said of Lauaki. “It's real. The power is real.”
The blast — one of just two A’s walkoffs this year — marked a crucial turning point in the season. Chatham won eight of its last 13 games of the year after the walkoff, helping clinch a playoff spot.
2. Cervantes, Rispoli given Cape League Awards (Aug. 5)
Angel Cervantes (center-right) was given the Cape League's B.F.C. Whitehouse Outstanding Pitcher award, becoming the first Angler to win the award since 2013. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
Cervantes took the Cape League by storm in his first summer with the A’s. The righty made six starts and one relief appearance for Chatham, pitching to a league-best 1.05 earned run average in 25.2 innings during the regular season. He allowed just 16 hits and three earned runs in that span while striking out 25 batters and issuing just five walks.
Cervantes was also awarded Chatham’s Ed Baird Most Outstanding Pitcher award, while Bino Watters (LSU) took home Chatham’s Thurman Munson Most Outstanding Position Player award, and Rispoli and Oliver Pudvar (UConn) took home the A’s Eddie Lyons Coach’s Award. Rispoli was additionally given the Cape League’s Daniel J. Silva Sportsmanship Award, given annually from umpires to one CCBL player.
It was the first time since 2013 that multiple A’s players took home league-wide awards.
1. Anglers beat Y-D 9-5 for first playoff win in eight years (Aug. 4)
Collins Black (No. 12) closed out Chatham's 9-5 win over Yarmouth-Dennis on Aug. 4 — the A's first playoff victory since 2018. Photograph by Alistair Hennessey
The playoffs are all about who gets hot, and Chatham entered its first playoff run since 2024 as hot as ever. The A’s won eight of their last nine games of the regular season, booking a matchup with No. 1 seed Yarmouth-Dennis in the first round.
In Game 1, the Anglers stayed scorching hot. Chatham clobbered three home runs and 14 hits, leading to a 9-5 win over the Red Sox. It was the A’s first playoff win since 2018.
Guzman got the scoring started for the Anglers in the third inning, when he demolished a two-run homer over the center field fence. Eddie Marshall (Florida) then roped a double off the wall to plate Chatham’s third run. Hovater and Tyler Howe (North Carolina) both mashed fifth-inning home runs, which scored three more runs for the A’s. Cervantes held it down on the bump for Chatham, allowing just three runs in his first playoff start.
And, with that, Chatham secured its first playoff win in the 2020s.
