Although fictional Angler Ryan Dunne from the 2001 film Summer Catch was nowhere to be found at Veterans Field on Monday night, Cole Johnson delivered a pair of catches worthy of the silver screen. His defensive gems kept Chatham within striking distance, but Hyannis left with a 7-5 victory and moved another step closer to catching Bourne for the West Division lead.
Hyannis jumped on Kaysen Raineri in his first start this summer. They opened the scoring in the second inning with consecutive singles from Henry Zenor and Taylor Kirk that brought home Caden Miller and Clay Thompson. Zenor also crossed the plate when an attempted Chatham pickoff sailed into the outfield, putting Hyannis up 3-0 early.
With the inning threatening to get out of hand, Cole Johnson raced back and made a leaping catch in right field to prevent further damage and give the Anglers a chance to respond.
Chatham did just that in the bottom half of the inning. Everett Marshall's bloop single scored Ty Peeples to get the Anglers on the board before Johnson wore a pitch to load the bases. Armani Guzman then grounded out but brought home another run and cut the deficit to one.
Hyannis entered the night with the Cape League's highest ERA and the second-most runs allowed this season. Still, Mitch Karraker's club has continued to overcome its pitching struggles with one of the league's most powerful offenses.
The Hawks extended their lead to 6-2 before Chatham answered with another run in the third inning to stay in the game.
Chatham needed every out they could get to keep the game tight and Johnson continued to flash the glove with a diving catch in left field that prevented Hyannis from adding to their lead.
The Anglers continued to show the patient approach that has helped them lead the Cape League in walks. That discipline helped Chatham climb back into the game in the seventh when Watters lined a single into left field to score Johnson and trim the deficit to two at 7-5.
The comeback opportunity continued in the eighth inning when Everett Marshall, Johnson and Armani Guzman all drew walks to load the bases. With Veterans Field on its feet, Mainolfi stepped to the plate representing the tying run. Hyannis escaped the jam when Mainolfi grounded out to end the threat.
Although Chatham stranded key runners multiple times throughout the game, the Anglers continued to battle until the final out.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Harlin Hovater came off the bench to pinch hit in the ninth as the Anglers mounted one final rally. Hyannis escaped the jam when Hovater hit a soft grounder. First baseman Andrew Lamb made a split-second decision to fire the ball home and save the run from scoring.
The Hyannis dugout was animated as the tight play kept the Anglers and their rally alive.
Chatham avoided the double play as Hovater barely made the 90-foot sprint to first, but the inning was not over.
With Jack Bell up and bases still loaded, the home crowd got on their feet and got loud for their hometown Anglers. Bell loaded up and fired a grounder at the Hyannis second baseman.
Hyannis completed another exceptional defensive play as JC Davis fielded the ball, tagged out Hovater as he sprinted to second, and then spun around and fired the ball to first to end the Anglers' rally and the game.
Despite the loss, Johnson acknowledged the chemistry in the clubhouse with the season well over the halfway point.
"It's awesome, all the guys are great,” Johnson said. “I've gotten to meet a lot of new guys, a lot of different players from across the country. It's pretty cool to see what everybody does in terms of how they work and how they try to get better."
Chatham Manager Dennis Cook was content with how close the team has gotten, but still wants a better on-field product with the postseason just weeks away.
"It is summer baseball, but it's also a competitive atmosphere,” Cook said. “We want to compete. We want to try to win every game, but I want them to have fun, and I also want them to understand that we're trying to win this."
Regardless, Chatham’s plate approach is beginning to show, and Cook wants results as soon as possible.
"Everybody right now is just trying to work on drawing more walks and being more selective with pitches,” Johnson said. “I feel like when that starts to happen, like it did tonight, then the hits start falling, especially with runners in scoring position."
Manager Dennis Cook believed the opportunities were there all night.
"I want somebody to get a big hit with guys in scoring position. I mean, I felt like we could have very easily scored 10 runs that game,” Cook said. “Somebody could drive the ball with guys in scoring position. We had multiple opportunities. We just didn't make it happen."
Hyannis continued its climb to catch Bourne at the top of the West Division, while Chatham is stuck in fourth in the East. With the regular season winding down and the postseason quickly approaching, every catch, at-bat and game carries a little more weight.
