Dominant pitching from Chatham sends YD to first loss in seven games

By Ben Strober

The ninth inning was another wild one at Red Wilson Field.

The Chatham Anglers’ pitching staff dominated all evening long, holding the Red Sox hitless since their lone hit in the third inning.

Still, the Red Sox battled.

Anthony Matinez led off the inning with a gritty single and pinch runner Nathan Archer found his way to third base following an error and a sacrifice.

Will King came to the plate needing just to elevate something deep to tie, and then, pandemonium struck.

King elevated one — not a very deep one. Chatham’s Janson Reeder made the catch in shallow center, and Archer took off.

Archer’s mad dash to the plate ended with him tagged for the game’s final out as Reeder’s throw home masked perfection.

The wild 8-2 double play ended Yarmouth’s six-game unbeaten streak as the Anglers snuck away with a 2-1 win.

“That could have gone either way,” manager Scott Pickler said. “I’m not going to blame [Archer] for going there.”

Yarmouth’s offense stood at the top of the league in almost all categories; the Anglers’ pitching staff did a phenomenal job cooling them down.

“All the credit to Chatham’s pitching today,” Pickler said. “That’s what happens when you face a good pitcher.”

Yarmouth-Dennis starter Finnegan Wall retired the first five Chatham hitters with no issue before allowing a bloop single and a walk. Both runners then moved to scoring position on a wild pitch.

Anglers’ RF Carson Benge lofted a towering fly ball that the wind kept on blowing off CF Nick Mitchell’s route. The ball hit the top of the fence for a two-run double and a Chatham lead.

YD’s first base runner came from a Ryan Stafford walk, but Chatham catcher Kaden Hopson nabbed him, trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt.

The Red Sox started to make noise in the third. Patience at the plate forced the bases loaded with one away. All Viera needed was a fly ball, and he got it done with his run-scoring lineout, cutting the Anglers’ lead in half.

Anthony Martinez gave one a ride a batter later, but right at the center fielder to end the inning.

Wall loaded the bases in the fourth. Through the first four innings, all Chatham base runners came with two outs.

“We played good defense today and didn’t make it easy on them,” Pickler said. “The pitching was phenomenal for us.”

Wall’s fifth strikeout was massive, as he caught Hopson looking to keep the Chatham lead at just one.

Chatham starter Brian Holiday stumped YD’s hitters through the first five innings. In that span, he allowed just one hit and fanned six.

Mitch Voit entered the game for Yarmouth-Dennis in the fifth and entered trouble early. After putting two in scoring position, Voit hung a zero on Chatham by striking out two in a big spot.

Matthew Wilkinson took over for Holiday after the fifth, and he dominated.

Though eight, YD still had just the lone hit from the third inning.

The Red Sox battled in the ninth, but the wild double play ended their hopes.

“I’ll live with it,” Pickler said. “We had two hits all game, so to have the game come down to a bang-bang play, that’s fine.”