CHATHAM, Mass. – The regular season has come and gone, but with the dusk of one day comes the dawn of another. After a long regular season, the Chatham Anglers (22-22) have earned a postseason berth and the right to compete for their eighth Cape Cod Baseball League championship.

The foe they meet in the first round is a familiar one—the Orleans Firebirds (31-12-1). The classic rivals met a standard six times this year, including the final two contests leading up to the postseason. Orleans edged out the regular-season series 4-2 en route to recording a franchise record 31 wins, but the Firebirds’ historic summer has failed to inspire any fear in the Anglers.

“Who we were going to play in the first round did not matter,” said Manager John Schiffner. “But if it’s going to be Orleans, good. They’re the best team in the league. Why not beat the best'”

The projected pitching matchup in tonight’s contest is arguably one of the most anticipated duels of the summer—Chatham’s Zac Gallen (North Carolina) against Orleans’ Mitchell Jordan (Stetson). Zac Gallen was one of two Anglers this season to receive the Ed Baird Outstanding Pitching Award recognizing exceptional Chatham pitchers (the other being Tuesday’s probable, Parker Dunshee) and has dominated an array of opponents this summer. His highlight-reel of a season includes a performance in which he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning at Cotuit and one in which he struck out five in a row en route to posting six scoreless against this same Firebird team on July 3.

Jordan has likewise mowed down his Cape League opponents. He surrendered a single earned run over the entire summer (43 innings) and finished the regular season at 6-0 with a 0.20 ERA. That one earned run, however, came against the Anglers on July 18.

“[Jordan] is a great pitcher, and he’s really found his stride up here,” said Kyle Brooks (North Florida), who plays against Jordan during the college season. “But we know that we’re also good enough to beat anybody, especially when we have Gallen on the mound.”

First pitch will be 7 p.m. at Eldredge Park in Orleans. Dominic Cotroneo and Jonny Wincott will have the call live, starting with the Anglers Extra Pregame Show at 6:40 p.m. on TRZ Teamline and at 1-800-846-4700, code 3841.