On Monday night, Chatham (19-21-2) will play its final road game of the season against the Orleans Firebirds (22-20) at 7 p.m. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Firebirds have a three point lead over the Anglers for third place in the East Division. Chatham is currently 2-2 in its season series with Orleans, losing 5-4 on July 3, winning 5-1 on July 4, falling 7-2 on July 19 and prevailing 4-2 on July 23.
The Anglers enter Monday's game following a 6-4 win against Harwich on Sunday night, which gave the team its first playoff berth since 2007. Pepperdine's
Aaron Brown (2-0, 1.69 ERA) earned the win in his best outing of the summer (6.1IP, 1H, 0ER, 3BB, 10K). Chatham jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning after back-to-back RBI singles by Boston College's
John Hennessy and Miami's
Dale Carey. In his first at-bat as an Angler, the newly activated Hennessy notched his first base hit and run batted in of the summer. Louisville's
Adam Engel also created some sparks for Chatham, ripping a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning. Despite a four-run eighth inning for the Mariners, the Anglers were able to hold on as High Point's
Jaime Schultz (2-0, 2.95 ERA) got the final six outs of the game to earn his first save.
In what will be a designated "staff day" for the Anglers, UC Irvine's
Jimmy Litchfield (0-2, 5.31 ERA) will start the game for the Anglers. After a couple of rough starts on July 1 and July 7, Litchfield has found a groove in the bullpen and has allowed only one earned run in his last four appearances, coming on August 3 against Harwich (1IP, 1H, 1ER, 0BB, 3K).
Orleans will start Maryland's
Jimmy Reed (2-0, 3.28 ERA). Reed earned a no-decision in his last start against Bourne on July 30 (6IP, 4H, 2ER, 3BB, 5K). In his one outing versus the Anglers this summer, Reed was given a no-decision (5IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, 7K).
For live coverage of Monday's game, tune into the Anglers Extra Pregame Show at 6:40 p.m. with broadcasters Chris Fitzgerald and Brandon Liebhaber at
TRZ Teamline or call 1-800-846-4700, code 3841.