Chatham (3-5) was one out away from its third straight win but fell victim to a late Harwich (7-1) rally in a 6-5, 10-inning loss. The win was the fourth straight for the first place Mariners, and came after the Anglers built a comfortable three-run lead with strong pitching and a patient hitting approach.  

Here’s a look back at the Anglers’ tough loss to Harwich, and a look ahead to its game against Falmouth (4-4). First pitch with the Commodores is at Arnie Allen Diamond at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

“It’s not much to bounce back from,” right-hander Jeff Burke (Boston College) said of the loss to Harwich. “It’s baseball, we all know this stuff happens. We just have to get back to it tomorrow.” 

Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga) leads off first in an eventual Anglers loss. View full gallery (click). 

At the plate

Chatham faced reigning Cape Cod League pitcher of the week Jason Inghram and fared relatively well in the early going. The lineup plated a first-inning run for the second consecutive day and added two more in the top of the second to give starter P.J. Conlon (San Diego) an early cushion. 

Blake Butera (Boston College), the team’s leading hitter (.370), singled and came home in the first on a groundout by Chris Shaw (Boston College). And Landon Lassiter (North Carolina) and Patrick Mazeika (Stetson) came across after reaching base on a single and double, respectively, to start the second. But after that, the bats would go quiet save a pair of insurance runs in the eighth. Chatham did enough to put the pitching staff in position to win the game, but had just one hit in the five innings that connected the tops of the second and eighth. 

On the mound

The Anglers pulled the right strings Thursday, using Conlon and Burke to keep the Mariners at arm’s length for most of the game. Conlon said after the game that it was planned for the two to split time, and their contrasting styles provided a puzzle that Harwich couldn’t solve. Conlon is a smaller left-hander whose inverted sequences keep hitters off balance. Burke’s approach is more straightforward, as he used a pinpoint fastball to get ahead of hitters and his breaking ball to set them down. Conlon finished with six strikeouts while giving up two runs — only one earned — in four innings of work. Burke punched out five in 4.2 frames. 

“I felt great coming in after P.J.,” Burke said after the game. 

But Burke couldn’t get the final out of the game, allowing a run before Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christie) came on and yielded a two-run single that tied the game. Then Bryan Goossens (Siena) came on in the bottom of the 10th and walked in the winning run with two outs. 

“Jake came into a tough spot in the ninth,” Chatham manager John Schiffner said. “And I think that Bryan looked good, he just ran into some tough luck there.”

Up next 

The Anglers continue their road swing at Falmouth Friday, and Zac Gallen (North Carolina) is expected to make his first start on the Cape. Gallen, a right-hander, went 5-4 in 17 starts for the Tar Heels this spring and finished with a 4.64 ERA. He also struck out 62 hitters while walking just 23. Nicholas Cooney is expected to start for the Commodores, a lefty that gave up five runs — four earned — in three innings of a start against Orleans on June 15. 

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