After only recording two hits the entire game and putting up unusually non-dominant pitching performances, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox fell 9-1 to the Chatham Anglers on Friday to slip to a 25-6-1 record this season. Despite its unattractive visual on the scoreboard, Y-D’s lack of offensive production didn’t phase Head Coach Scott Pickler.
“We got beat,” said Pickler. “That’s the worst game we’ve been out of all year, and these things happen.”
Pickler tipped his cap to the Anglers’ pitching staff. Christian Chatterton (Auburn University) started on the mound and stayed there for five and ⅔ innings, and only allowed two hits and one earned run. Most notably, he managed 12 strikeouts against a Y-D offense that leads the CCBL in slugging and RBI. Wyatt Nadeau (Vanderbilt) came in for the last 3 and ⅓, where he allowed no hits and one walk.
“They played really well, their starting pitching was very good,” said Pickler. “No worries, it happens.”
This win came at a crucial time for Chatham, a team who sits seven points ahead of the last-place Orleans Firebirds and is in the fight for the last CCBL East Division playoff spot. Although Y-D was the first Cape League team to clinch a postseason spot and is not in the heat of a postseason chase, the team is using the remainder of the regular season to become the best version of themselves.
“We do need to get some guys some more outings as we go into playoffs,” said Y-D Pitching Coach Eric Beattie. “We need to find out, kind of, what those roles are going to look like, and every game helps us figure that out.”
Beattie noted that the game, despite its poor outcome, provided an opportunity for Y-D’s new pitchers to get a feel for pitching for their new team. These newcomers included Kadan Roach (North Greenville University), who entered in the fourth inning, and Eli Walker (Indiana University) who pitched 1 and ⅓ innings starting in the sixth.
“We’ve got guys that threw for the first time today. So you know, it was obviously not a great game, but a good game to kind of get guys in a little bit of a lower pressure situation,” he said.
Like Beattie, who treated the loss as a learning experience, Y-D Assistant Coach Craig Gianinno is already set on moving on.
“Get to the next day. Regroup, reset, refocus,” Gianinno said. “Move on. You’ve got a game tomorrow.”
Y-D will look to renew its winning streak on Saturday, July 25 at 4:30 pm EDT, at home, against the Brewster Whitecaps.
