There are only two undefeated teams remaining atop the standings of the East Division. Those two squads—the Chatham Anglers and the Brewster Whitecaps—will square off in a pair of consecutive early-season showdowns on Thursday and Friday night. Brewster will host the Thursday game at 5 p.m. on Stony Brook Field, and the Anglers will welcome the Whitecaps to Chatham the following night for a contest under the new lights of Veterans Field at 7 p.m.

The Anglers and Whitecaps have each had success through the first two games of the summer, though they have done so with distinctly different brands of baseball.

Aaron Barnett and the Anglers look to stay undefeated. 

Chatham has primarily gotten the job done with strong pitching. The Anglers' first two starting pitchers, T.J. Zeuch (Pittsburgh) and Daniel Castano (Baylor), did not allow an earned run in their outings. Zeuch yielded seven hits while striking out two against Yarmouth-Dennis on opening night, and Castano spoiled Bourne’s home opener, giving up only three hits while also striking out three.

The Angler bullpen has likewise put on extremely impressive performances. On Tuesday night James Mulry (Northeastern), Brandon Miller (Millersville), and Andre Scrubb (High Point) combined to retire the final 10 Y-D batters in order. On Wednesday the bullpen again put on a show as James Mulry (Northeastern), Chad Martin (Delaware), Jim McDade (Millersville), and C.J. Burdick (San Diego) combined for four innings of one-run ball against the Braves.

While the Chatham pitching has been very strong, Manager John Schiffner is also quick to note that the position players have been pulling their weight as well.

“We’re playing really decent baseball right now,” said Schiffner. “We’re not making bad outs, we’re battling the pitchers, and we’ve made some nice defensive plays in the field.”

Contributions from the position players have come in a wide variety of ways including: a two-RBI ballgame by Trenton Brooks (Nevada), a three-hit game by Nate Mondou (Wake Forest), a spectacular diving stop by Alex Raburn (North Carolina), and an aggressive showing of base running by Kyle Brooks (North Florida).

“Those plays are the way you win ball games in this league,” said Schiffner.

On the Brewster side, the Whitecaps have imposed their will on opponents through offensive efficiency. Brandon Gold (Georgia Tech) has led the way at the plate so far with four hits and three RBIs in eight at-bats. Robbie Tenerowicz (Cal), Ryan Peurifoy (Georgia Tech), Nick Senzel (Tennessee), Eli White (Clemson), and Tyler Ramirez (North Carolina) have also all driven in runs already this season.

The Whitecap pitching has been solid, though not as strong as that of their Thursday and Friday adversaries. The Brewster pitching staff has yielded eight total runs and five earned runs, while the Chatham hurlers have allowed only three total runs and a single earned run this season.

Gabe Friese (Kennesaw State) is the projected starter for Chatham. Friese was 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA and a 46-26 strikeout to walk ratio for the Owls this season. Brewster is expected to pitch two-way player, Brandon Gold, who has already shown his skill at the plate. Gold was 7-3 with a 3.26 ERA and struck out 71 batters in 85.2 innings for the Yellow Jackets this year.

The Anglers Extra Pregame Show will start at 4:40 and first pitch will be at 5:00 p.m. tonight. Listen to the early-season battle live on TRZ Teamline.