The Birds edged past Chatham in more ways than one last night—clinching a 5–2 win over the Anglers and officially passing them in the CCBL standings.
With last night’s win, Orleans now finds itself ranked fourth in the division, as Chatham dropped to fifth.
“We did the four phases: we put the ball in play, we played well defensively, we pitched, and we ran the bases well,” manager Kelly Nicholson said the night before after defeating Hyannis.
The same rang true on Saturday night at Veterans Field.
Despite a fog-shortened matchup that was called in the fifth inning, the Birds managed to get on the board early. In fact, four of Orlean’s five runs came in the first inning.
JJ Glasscock (West Virginia) started on the mound for the Anglers. However, it didn’t take long for him to falter against Orleans’ offensive pressure.
After two consecutive Anthony Potestio (UC San Diego) and Luke Nixon (NC State) walks, Potestio managed to steal third.
Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) ultimately led the charge for the Birds, nailing a double off a line drive to left field, bringing both Potestio and Nixon home.
Just like that, Orleans already had a 2–0 lead over their old-time rivals.
With zero outs on the board, the Birds were just getting started, though.
Selected as a starting outfielder for the All-Star game, Robbie Lavey (George Washington) carried that same momentum into Saturday night.
Notching the only home run of the matchup, Lavey locked eyes with Glasscock, as he made direct contact with the ball, nailing it over the fence of Veterans Field and into the ensuing fog.
Scoring Ickes on the play, Lavey’s two-run homer gave Orleans a 4–0 edge with zero outs. Things couldn’t have started better for Orleans, and the game couldn’t have started worse for the Anglers.
Striking out both Cashel Dugger (UCLA) and Jonathan Mendez (UC Santa Barbara), Glasscock limited any further damage from Orleans.
While Dawson Bryce (Charlotte) notched a single of his own, Kyle Johnson (Virginia) was unable to convert on what would be the Birds’ fifth run on the night.
In the bottom of the first, all eyes were on leadoff pitcher Luke Pettitte (Dallas Baptist).
Holding the Anglers to a 1–2–3 inning, Pettitte did not disappoint in front of a packed Veterans Field.
In fact, in his 4.2 IP, Pettitte tallied four strikeouts, allowing just two runs off five hits.
The Anglers were unable to punch back in the bottom of the second, though. Fortunately, that wasn’t the same story for the Birds.
After a Mendez walk to start the inning, first baseman Bryce capped it off with a double on a line drive to left field.
With Jake Hanley (Indiana) unable to come up with the stop, Bryce scored Mendez on the play as the Birds now had their fifth run of the game.
“Dawson Bryce is a really good athlete,” Nicholson said about what Bryce brings to the Birds. “We are super fortunate to have Dawson Bryce.”
Nothing changed for the Anglers either in the bottom of the third as the score remained 5–0 Orleans.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth when Chatham started to make something happen. After a Isaiah Lane (San Diego) single, Noah Miller (Michigan) followed suit with a single of his own, bringing Lane home.
Replacing Pettitte was Cole Tryba (UC Santa Barbara). In his 0.1 IP before the game was called, Tryba allowed one hit.
That came off a Ashton Larson (Louisiana State) single. After three consecutive walks, Jackson Freeman (Northwestern) walked back to home plate, earning the Anglers their last run of the game.
And after Chase Fralick (Auburn) struck out, that capped off the night for both squads in the bottom of the fifth inning.
