In the lone winner-take-all Game 3 of the Cape League playoffs first round, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox kept their championship hopes alive with an 8-2 victory over the Chatham Anglers.
Head coach Scott Pickler, now in his 27th season, has guided Y-D to four regular season East Division titles in the past five years. The Red Sox, however, have not won the Cape League championship since their three-peat from 2014-16. All season, the Red Sox played like a team possessed, dominating nearly every stat line as they cruised to another Presidents’ Trophy. After the fourth-seeded Anglers shocked the home crowd in game one and Y-D got revenge in game two, everything was now set to be decided at Merrill “Red” Wilson Field.
Y-D reliever-turned-starter Rhett Vaughn took the mound for the Red Sox. Vaughn allowed just two runs this summer through 22.1 innings. However, only two of his 11 outings were starts. With the season on the line, Vaughn delivered one of his best outings of the summer. Vaughn swept through the Chatham lineup, striking out eight over five innings of one-run ball. Chatham’s Everett Marshall was the first to get to Vaughn with a deep fly ball over the left field fence in the fourth inning.
Oliver Pudvar started on the mound for Chatham. Pudvar threw 29.1 innings this summer and won the Baseball Lifestyle 101 Pitcher of the Week earlier in the season. Reid Howard got to Pudvar first, launching a three-run shot in the second to open the scoring. The Red Sox made it 5-1 in the fourth when Mateo Serna hit a towering two-run home run over the left-center field fence, chasing Pudvar from the game.
It was smooth sailing for the Red Sox through the middle innings with the score staying at 5-1 until Jake Souders hit a three-run shot in the sixth, extending their lead to 8-1.
As Chatham’s fate was all but sealed, pinch-hitter Jacob Driver stepped up to the plate in the ninth. With one out, the substitute drove in Chatham’s final run of the season with yet another home run. Driver’s home run was the tenth in the series as both teams traded blows back and forth in a heavyweight bout. Scott Pickler’s Red Sox had their backs against the wall, but got away in a do-or-die rubber match and now move on to face the Harwich Mariners in the East Divisional Finals.
The Divisional Final schedule is listed below:
Eastern Division
Game 1 – Friday, August 7, 2026
- (3) Harwich Mariners at (1) Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox — Red Wilson Field
Game 2 – Saturday, August 8, 2026
- (1) Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox at (3) Harwich Mariners — Whitehouse Field
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, August 9, 2026
- (3) Harwich Mariners at (1) Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox — Red Wilson Field
Western Division
Game 1 – Friday, August 7, 2026
- (2) Bourne Braves at (1) Hyannis Harbor Hawks — McKeon Park,
Game 2 – Saturday, August 8, 2026
- (1) Hyannis Harbor Hawks at (2) Bourne Braves — Doran Park,
Game 3 (If Necessary) – Sunday, August 9, 2026
- (2) Bourne Braves at (1) Hyannis Harbor Hawks — McKeon Park,
