BOURNE, Mass. — Zane Petty (Texas Tech) found success against the Chatham Anglers the first two times he faced them.
His starting performance propelled Bourne to two victories, but Chatham wouldn’t let Petty ring victorious a third time, getting to him early by scoring fours runs in the first two innings on Friday.
Once again, the Braves put themselves in an early deficit they couldn’t overcome, dropping their second straight contest in a 9-2 loss to the Anglers.
Chatham jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, starting with a single from Gavin Gallaher (North Carolina). He then advanced to second after an Ethan Mendoza (Texas) walk and scored on an RBI single by Chase Fralick (Auburn).
The lead would extend in the next frame, as Noah Miller (Michigan) got it going with a walk, then advancing a pair of bases following a bunt from Isaiah Lane (San Diego) and a wild pitch from Petty. Gallaher walked, and he joined Miller in touching home plate following a two-run double by Mendoza.
Mendoza would then score, stealing third and then going home following a throwing error from Jimmy Keenan (Wake Forest) behind the plate that grew the Anglers' lead to 4-0.
The Braves tacked on a run in the third, starting with a Ryker Waite (Vanderbilt) single, returning after a two-game hiatus after leaving in the sixth inning against Cotuit on Sunday with injury. He then took second on a wild pitch from Luke Jackson (Texas A&M) before stealing third.
Waite scored on a sacrifice fly from Kade Lewis (Wake Forest), cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Chatham added insult to injury in the seventh, starting with Gallaher reaching first after his strikeout turned into a wild pitch. Another wild pitch and a groundout later, Mendoza and Daniel Jackson (Georgia) walked. A run scored after an error by Ryan Cooney (Oregon) at shortstop.
A two-run double by Jake Hanley (Indiana) enhanced the lead to 7-1 after seven innings of play.
Chatham tacked on another in the eighth, as Henry Ford (Tennessee) ripped a double and scored on a Mendoza single, making the score 8-1.
Bourne added a tally in the bottom of the frame, as Braden Holcomb (Vanderbilt) reached second base on a wild pitch from Dane Burns (Mississippi State). The score became 8-2, as Lewis had his second RBI of the game after a one-base knock.
The deficit went back to seven for the Braves, as Chatham added one more following a Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) triple, where he would score on an RBI groundout by Hanley to make the scoreboard read 9-2.
Tate Carey (Michigan) closed out the game for the Anglers, retiring the Braves in order.
Bourne Braves Player of the Game
Nate Whysong (Wake Forest) was a positive for the Braves coming out of the bullpen, pitching four innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts and just one hit.
Key moment
The early deficit proved to be costly once again, as Bourne fell behind by four runs after two innings of play.
A look ahead
The Braves (4-6-1, 9 points) hit the road to play the Cotuit Kettleers (2-8-1, 5 points) on Saturday. Bourne defeated Cotuit, 5-4, on Sunday following a walk-off single from Holcomb.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m.
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