Yarmouth, Mass. — For every stumble, there was a leap. Every victory, an echo. A tumbling cycle of calls and responses, repeating like choruses.

As the sun eased its way over Red Wilson Field, the Anglers (20-19) fought to stay ahead of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (24-13-1).

Third baseman John Aiello (Wake Forest) had capitalized on a bases-loaded situation in the top of the third, plating two on a single. First baseman Nick Patten (Delaware) knocked in another run to give Chatham an extra burst of life.

Yarmouth-Dennis’ Darren Trainor (Lewis-Clark State) retaliated in the bottom of the third, hitting a solo home run to center field. But the Anglers did not give in.

Right fielder Josh Stowers (Louisville) sent Aiello home on a groundout in the fifth, teasing victory away from Yarmouth-Dennis.

Unlike during previous visits, the shorter outfield at Red Wilson Field did not haunt Chatham at the plate.

“That’s when you know it’s a well-pitched ballgame,” said manager John Schiffner.

“I know it’s a small park,” said starting pitcher Justin Lasko (Massachusetts Amherst). “I wanted to keep the ball low and get ahead of batters, because when I do that I tend to have success. If I can keep it low and get ground balls, then it eliminates the home runs, so that was kind of the mindset going in.”

Lasko kept the Red Sox at a comfortable distance, allowing two earned runs with two strikeouts over five innings.

“I had a lot of my pitches working today,” Lasko said. “I felt comfortable throwing either the fast, curve, change or slider for strikes at any time.”

An aggressive quartet from the bullpen closed the door on Yarmouth-Dennis in the final four frames. 

RJ Freure (Pittsburgh) stepped in for Dan Metzdorf (Boston College) on the mound in the midst of a two-runner Red Sox threat in the seventh. The park grew silent as Freure faced Alfonso Rivas (Arizona) with two outs. But he delivered. Freure sent the final strike roaring down the middle to an eruption from the dugout.

Adam Wolf (Louisville) and Jack DeGroat (Liberty) kept it clean over the last two innings, keeping Yarmouth-Dennis off the basepaths with no hits.

“They kept us ahead — [coach Rob] Bono with the pitching staff has just done a terrific job,” Schiffner said. “They just threw strikes, and got the batteries out. They just threw very well, mixed their speeds well, and they just did an excellent job.”

The Anglers return to Veterans Field to host the Harwich Mariners (11-26-1) Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Box Score

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