CHATHAM, Mass. — The Whitecaps felt their lead slowly slipping away.

What was a 5-1 advantage over the Chatham Anglers in the second inning shrunk to a 5-3 lead in the fourth, then to 5-4 in the fifth.

But with one swing of the bat, Ryder Helfrick had the Whitecaps dugout breathing a sigh of relief. The Arkansas catcher laced a two-run single through the 5-6 hole into left field, scoring first baseman Cooper Vest (BYU) and right fielder Nick Dumesnil (Cal Baptist) for two key insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning.

“It was huge,” Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik said of the play. “It took some pressure off [reliever] Seth Tomczak coming in to have to deal with two innings of a one-run game. And in a one-run game out here, the tables can turn really quick.”

The big hit punctuated a 7-4 win for the Whitecaps (3-3, 1-1 Eastern Division), who outlasted the Anglers (3-3, 1-2 Eastern) in a rain-filled game at Veterans Field on Friday that lasted nearly three and a half hours.

Helfrick put the exclamation point on Brewster’s win in the seventh, but he also got things started in the first. The catcher drew a walk and showcased his agility by stealing second base, cleverly sliding under the tag. Not that it mattered.

Two pitches later, designated hitter Nolan Schubart (Oklahoma State) took an inner-half heater from Chatham starter Evan Chrest (Florida State) and blasted it for a towering home run. It was the second long ball in as many days for Schubart, this one coming at 106 mph off the bat and traveling a projected 377 feet to deliver Brewster a 2-0 advantage.

“I’ve just been staying true to my approach up here and resetting after every pitch,” Schubart said. “Knowing just to stay on the fastball and adjust to off-speed and go from there.”

R.J. Johnson Jr. added to the lead with an RBI single in the second, before Chatham catcher Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) returned the favor with an RBI knock of his own in the bottom half.

In the third, Whitecaps third baseman Daniel Cuvet joined in on the fun. The University of Miami product tattooed a home run to dead center field, his first big fly of the summer.

“I’ve been watching that s–t all year long on ESPN+,” Shevchik joked. “So to see it out here with the wood was really damn cool. I’ve been waiting around for it. He’s starting to heat up, he’s starting to see the ball a little bit better.”

Starter Patrick Forbes (Louisville) pitched just 1 1/3 innings, striking out one and allowing three hits with one earned run. The shortened outing was planned by Shevchik since Friday marked Forbes’ final appearance before departing to Team USA Collegiate National Team Training Camp in Cary, N.C.

He was replaced by Gabe Davis (Oklahoma State), who also logged his last action before joining Team USA. The hard-throwing righty tossed 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and a pair of runs.

“It played out a little bit differently than I expected,” Shevchik said. “I expected to get at least five innings out of Forbes and Davis, but with their pitch counts at 25 to 30, we were only able to get two to three at the most.”

Chatham made things interesting in the third and fourth, methodically chipping away at Brewster’s 5-1 advantage. Facing sidewinding righty Will Ray (Wake Forest), Anglers right fielder Ty Dalley (Mercer) grounded into a run-scoring 4-6-3 double play, and Smithwick notched his second RBI single of the night to make it 5-3 in the third. Kyle Lodise (Georgia Tech) added a leadoff solo shot to left in the fourth to make it 5-4.

The hosts threatened once again in the bottom of the sixth against D.J. Primeaux (LSU). With rain drizzling, Primeaux hit the leadoff man, third baseman Landon Stripling (Florida), who hustled to second on a soft groundout to short the following at-bat. Primeaux caught Smithwick looking for the second out, bringing up pinch-hitter Will Gasparino (Texas) in a big spot.

After the 6-foot-6 righty fell into a full count, Primeaux blew a fastball by him to end the inning, quieting the few Chatham fans who hadn’t already departed to escape the rain.

Following a scoreless seventh, Helfrick’s clutch knock gave the Whitecaps breathing room in the eighth before Tomczak (Cal State Fullerton) shut the door in the final two frames.

The contest marked Brewster’s second consecutive multi-homer game, but Shevchik put the emphasis on Helfrick’s single, the timeliest hit of the evening.

“People don’t realize, we won by three runs, Schubart hit the home run, but the biggest hit of the game was really Helfrick in the eighth inning, giving us a little breathing room,” Shevchik said.