BREWSTER, Mass. — No team in the Cape has leaned on its pitching quite like the Brewster Whitecaps — and it’s worked. Heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Chatham Anglers, Brewster held a league-best 2.41 ERA, anchored by a staff that’s been lights out all summer. They’ve given up more than four runs just twice, keeping them in every game and setting the tone for one of the most consistent stretches in the league.

Their last trip to Chatham ended in frustration — a 2-1 loss cut short after five innings by thick fog, just as the Whitecaps were beginning to rally. But this time, with momentum on their side after Brendan Lawson (Florida) powered a breakout offensive day, Brewster returned looking to finish what the weather wouldn’t allow — and turn elite pitching into a complete win.

But instead of redemption, they ran headfirst into chaos.

A leadoff home run from Chatham was the first crack in Brewster’s game plan, and it only got worse from there. Three straight hits opened the inning, part of a six-hit blitz that buried the Whitecaps early. They fought back, inching within three by the sixth, but for the second straight meeting, the clock ran out on the comeback. This time, it was darkness — not fog — that halted the game after seven innings, sealing a 10-6 loss and another unfinished chapter in Brewster’s series with the Anglers.

Wednesday’s loss brought a fresh wave of frustration for the Whitecaps — and for more than one reason. Brewster (9-6) has developed a troubling pattern of following its most promising performances with letdowns, and this game was no exception. Despite having a real chance to claw back, the damage done in a marathon first inning — and the clock constantly ticking at lightless Stony Brook Field — turned any comeback effort into a race against darkness.

“It’s hard to get buried 7-0 in the first inning. It’s an uphill climb,” Brewster head coach Jamie Shevchik explained. “It’s hard enough to come back from three or four — or seven. But again, you take away inning No. 1, and the whole game has changed.”

Alex Philpott (South Carolina) got the start for Brewster, entering the game with a perfect ERA — though all of his appearances had come out of the bullpen. With ongoing roster turnover forcing the Whitecaps to rely on relievers as starters, Philpott was first in line to take on the challenge.

But the transition was rough from the outset.

Chatham (6-6) struck immediately, as Henry Ford (Virginia) crushed a leadoff home run on just the second pitch of the game, sparking a relentless first-inning barrage. Philpott struggled with command, hitting two batters and allowing several key hits, including RBI doubles and singles that quickly turned the game into a nightmare.

Despite briefly appearing close to escaping the jam, Philpott was pulled after recording just two outs. Four of the seven runs came after those outs, with Ford delivering the first and final blow — a two-run single that ended Philpott’s night and left Brewster in a gaping early hole.

“(Philpott) just wasn't locating well, a lot of those pitches were up in the zone, he didn't have a good feel for his offspeed stuff,” Shevchik stated. “It's hard to give up seven runs in one inning and have to fight your way back right again.”

It was a seven-run deficit before Brewster even stepped to the plate — a brutal, gut-wrenching inning that left the Whitecaps facing a daunting climb. Momentum was all but gone, energy drained, and for some, the mercy rule felt dangerously close.

The toughest part? Shevchik and the Whitecaps had approached Wednesday conservatively. With a grueling stretch of games ahead, they used the night to rest key bats like Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College) and Dalton Wentz (Wake Forest), meaning Brewster would need to lean on its depth to pull off the improbable.

Brewster began to chip away in the second. Drew Rodgers (Georgia Tech), part of a crowded catching group and still searching for his rhythm at the plate, jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched a no-doubt homer to left — his first of the summer — to finally get the Whitecaps on the board.

“I went up there just trying to see a pitch that I could drive,” Rodgers said. “I was on time early, and he hung me a slider, and I put a good swing on it.”

But the momentum quickly slipped away. Lance Davis (Arkansas), brought in after Philpott’s early exit, gave up two more runs in the third and fourth innings, stretching Chatham’s lead to 9-1 — the largest deficit Brewster faced all game. The Anglers settled into cruise control, perhaps a bit prematurely.

Still, the Whitecaps showed signs of life. Carson Kerce (Georgia Tech) singled and later scored on a Rodgers RBI in the fifth. An inning later, Kerce came through again — smoking a two-run triple to right-center after two runners reached, cutting the deficit to 9-4. Rodgers and Kerce, the two Yellow Jackets, refused to let Brewster go quietly, fighting to pull the team back into contention.

After two scoreless innings from Nathan Brittain (Wake Forest), Brewster’s offense started to build momentum. With runners on base thanks to earlier hits and walks, Ryan Martin (Georgia Highlands) — still searching for his first Whitecaps hit — stepped up and ripped a two-run double into right-center. Cutting the deficit to three, Brewster suddenly found itself within striking distance — with real hope for a comeback.

“Proves that it doesn't matter if you're down by one, two or seven runs — you still have a shot, right?” Shevchik stated. “Usually, your offense dies when you're down seven (to) nothing. And ours didn't. Ours kind of really stayed engaged and fought their way back. So again, give them a lot of credit.”

A walk to Cal Fisher (Florida St.) and a passed ball put two in scoring position, bringing Tuesday’s hero Lawson to the plate as the tying run. He went 3-for-4 the night before, capped by a towering homer toward the Orleans parking lot — and was looking for more. After working a full count, Lawson ripped a line drive, but it was right at second baseman Ethan Mendoza (Texas), who turned a quick double play to end Brewster’s comeback bid.

After all the momentum, Brewster was on the verge of the impossible — just needing a few more innings to complete the comeback. But after the seventh, darkness forced the umpires to call the game, denying the Comeback ’Caps their chance. For the second straight game against Chatham, Brewster battled back but never got to see it through — another abrupt ending to a game that was quickly becoming a thriller.

Both matchups showed grit and promise, yet early damage and the relentless clock left the Whitecaps wondering what might have been.

“It hurts,” Rodgers admitted. “I mean early in the season, we were kind of known for bounce backs later in games and I think we would have done that if we kept playing.”

Title photo credit: Casey Bayne.