Kal Simmons (Kennesaw State) and Robert Baldwin (Yale) had similar reactions to the game. 

There was a lot to say about the game. Chatham collected nine hits to Yarmouth-Dennis’ 10, but couldn’t notch the hit. Four Anglers relievers held the Red Sox in check after starter Charlie Dant (Dayton) exited after two innings, but the game-winning runs had already been scored. Chatham’s offense hung around all game but was, in the end, on too short of a leash. 

“They threw some really good arms at us,” Simmons said. 

“I think that’s what a Cape League game looks like. Pitchers like that,” Baldwin added. 

For the second time in three days, Y-D (18-14) marched into Veterans Stadium and left with a win on Saturday night. This one came on a 5-2 score, as the visitors stymied the Anglers (14-17-1) with four different arms. Walker Buehler started for the Red Sox and earned the win, and Dant received the loss after giving up three runs in two innings of work. 

Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga) was 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the loss. 

Box Score:

Game Tracker

What followed was a bullpen battle that tilted Y-D’s way — the early cushion proving just easy enough to protect. 

“I think you tip your cap to their pitchers but we also had nine hits,” said Schiffner as he craned his neck to see the scoreboard overlooking left field. “We had hits we just didn’t get the right hit when we had a chance to score.”

Buehler, who joined the Red Sox late after his Vanderbilt team won the College World Series, worked into the jam in the first and gave up a run in the second. That came on an RBI single by third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus (Gonzaga), who continued his strong stretch of play. But Buehler settled in after that and used a sharp breaking ball to keep the Anglers off balance. No Chatham hitter reached second base on him for the rest of his outing, and it wasn’t until Simmons walked and Ty Moore (UCLA) singled that the hosts mounted a legitimate late-game threat. 

And in a night that was ultimately dominated by Y-D pitching, Dimitri Kourtis drew the hardest job. The right-handed reliever came on with Simmons and Moore leading off in the bottom of the seventh and was tasked with the heart of the Anglers’ power alley. First was A.J. Murray (Georgia Tech), the league leader in home runs. Second was Chris Shaw (Boston College), whose four home runs earned him a spot in the league’s Home Run Derby earlier in the day. 

But Kourtis set down both by way of the strikeout. And even though Chatham scratched across a run in the bottom of the eighth, Kourtis’ back-to-back strikeouts seemed like a means to an end. 

“We were one hit away the whole night it felt like,” Simmons said. “We just couldn’t quite get it but were close.”

Kourtis was followed by Phil Bickford, who collected a one-two-three save to close the book. Since losing six straight games last week, the Anglers have had a hard time finding a consistent winning stride. Saturday was another chance to do so, but Chatham will have to keep on looking.  

“It just didn’t all quite come together,” Baldwin said. “I think it’s definitely a consistency thing at this point and I am excited to get back at it. I know we all are.”

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