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Murphy stymies Mariners’ comeback to clinch Chatham’s 7-6 win over Harwich
It’s hard to fill Titan Hayes’ shoes. It’s even harder to match his archetype — a burly man with flowing long, blonde locks and scruffy facial hair who throws 100 miles per hour. He may not resemble Chatham’s former closer in the slightest, yet Hayden Murphy still assumed Hayes’ role Thursday. And he seized the moment.
Hayes (Austin Peay) left the Anglers earlier in the morning, taking his chance with the MLB Draft. So in the eighth inning, when Chatham was in danger of letting a six-run lead over Harwich slip away, pitching coach Eric Beattie pointed to the bullpen and summoned Murphy.
The right-hander from Auburn instantly faced a dire situation. The Mariners had a runner on second with two outs and all their momentum on their side. Their bats were scorching, too, as they’d already blasted four homers on the night. But Murphy made it look easy. He struck out Tommy Barth on a foul tip to end the chance. Then, he retired the side in the ninth.
Once Cam Maldonado’s bat could only scrape the air on a high-and-inside fastball from Murphy to end the game, he solemnly strolled to greet catcher Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) at home plate. Business as usual.
“The people who have been here the whole time just have to lead by example,” Murphy said on the Anglers Extra Postgame Show.
Murphy guided Chatham (11-11, East) back on course in its 7-6 win over Harwich (9-13, East) Thursday, completing a four-out save to stall a rampant Mariners’ comeback. The win further establishes the Anglers’ second-place ranking in the CCBL’s East Division. They hold a 1.5-game lead over Brewster, a two-game cushion over Harwich and are five games into a playoff spot due to Orleans’ last-place 6-16 record.
The A’s wouldn’t be in that spot without Murphy, though.
“We talked about as a team that the beauty of changes in your roster allows opportunities for other guys coming into different roles,” Chatham manager Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger said of Murphy. “I'm really proud of Hayden. That's who he needs to be for us moving forward.”
It didn’t seem likely Chatham would ever need a closer. The Anglers held a 7-1 lead through five innings. Harwich starter Chance Mako was the ringmaster for a second-inning walk circus, where the A’s scored four runs off five walks and only one hit. A two-run single from Smithwick in the third and a Luke Cantwell (Pittsburgh) fifth-frame RBI made it a six-run lead.
Meanwhile, Anglers’ starter Tyler Kozera (UCF) was cruising. He allowed one run — a Macon Winslow second-inning solo homer — through six innings. Though he finished his outing with 6.2 innings pitched, Chatham’s longest start of the summer, Harwich figured him out.
Kozera gave up two more homers in the seventh, a solo home run to Jake Ogden and a two-run shot to Luke Heyman. The Mariners’ deficit shrunk to three. Kozera was promptly swapped for Devin Pressley, who didn’t fare much better in his Chatham debut. Matt Scannell hit a two-run tater off him and Pressley’s night ended amid the eighth — with the A’s up 7-6.
Chatham pitcher Hayden Murphy hurls a pitch during his four-out save in Chatham's 7-6 win over Harwich / Photograph by Ella Tovey
The déjà vu from Chatham’s comeback win over Harwich five days prior was palpable. In that matchup, also at Veterans Field, the Anglers stormed back from down seven and delivered a 13-12 triumph via a Smithwick walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning.
“I'm sure our win the other night gave (Harwich) some belief tonight that, ‘If they can do it, why not us?’” Smithwick said. “And good for them, rightfully so.”
Enter Murphy. He’d already been thrust into an important bullpen role this summer. Heading into the game, he’d made five appearances for 11.2 innings and tallied a 4.63 ERA, while his 16 strikeouts ranked second on the team. Eerily enough, Murphy pitched the last two innings of Chatham’s comeback win over Harwich and earned the winning decision.
This time, he earned his first save of the season.
Murphy relied heavily on his fastball, which he called his best pitch. He painted the zone, tossing 14 strikes of 21 pitches, and induced weak contact early in counts besides an eight-pitch at-bat to Barth for Murphy’s lone out of the eighth. A quick one-two-three top of the ninth finished off a perfect relief appearance and saved what could’ve been a disastrous loss.
“They battled hard there at the end,” Smithwick said of the Mariners. “But when you got a guy like Hayden Murphy on the mound, it’s unbelievable to catch and it's so fun to watch him do his thing. He shut them down.”
The drive in which Murphy displayed extended beyond just wanting to win. He felt for Pressley, who he said had good stuff early before allowing a two-run homer in the eighth.
Murphy knows getting used to the Cape isn’t easy. He himself weathered a few rough outings to start his summer. The lowlight being a June 23 relief appearance at Cotuit where he allowed a three-run homer to Tanner Thach in the seventh and was deemed the losing pitcher. Murphy showed Pressley the exact path to where diligent adjustments pay off.
“I was just trying to pick up a teammate,” Murphy said of Pressley. “It was his first day.”
Murphy’s words reflect how Sheetinger’s message is spreading to the players. The first-year manager understands there are plenty of ebbs and flows that come with roster movement in the CCBL. Along with Hayes, fellow pitchers Pierce George (Alabama), Micah Ashman (Utah) and John Armstrong (Auburn) all left the team as well. Not to mention LSU star lefty Griffin Herring left more than a week ago, too.
Sheetinger emphasizes continuity. He keeps it consistent throughout the changes to his team by having outgoing players call incoming players to make sure they’re on the same page about what Chatham’s culture is like.
His plan is in action. New guys like Pressley will have time to find their stride through repetition and adaptation. For now, though, Sheetinger can deploy guys who’ve sewn themselves into the fabric of the team — like Murphy, who’s taken over for Hayes.
“That for us is a huge step to allow the communication to begin from the player to the next guy,” Sheetinger said. “Sort of pass the torch so that (new players) have an identity when they walk in here.”
Hayes (Austin Peay) left the Anglers earlier in the morning, taking his chance with the MLB Draft. So in the eighth inning, when Chatham was in danger of letting a six-run lead over Harwich slip away, pitching coach Eric Beattie pointed to the bullpen and summoned Murphy.
The right-hander from Auburn instantly faced a dire situation. The Mariners had a runner on second with two outs and all their momentum on their side. Their bats were scorching, too, as they’d already blasted four homers on the night. But Murphy made it look easy. He struck out Tommy Barth on a foul tip to end the chance. Then, he retired the side in the ninth.
Once Cam Maldonado’s bat could only scrape the air on a high-and-inside fastball from Murphy to end the game, he solemnly strolled to greet catcher Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) at home plate. Business as usual.
“The people who have been here the whole time just have to lead by example,” Murphy said on the Anglers Extra Postgame Show.
Murphy guided Chatham (11-11, East) back on course in its 7-6 win over Harwich (9-13, East) Thursday, completing a four-out save to stall a rampant Mariners’ comeback. The win further establishes the Anglers’ second-place ranking in the CCBL’s East Division. They hold a 1.5-game lead over Brewster, a two-game cushion over Harwich and are five games into a playoff spot due to Orleans’ last-place 6-16 record.
The A’s wouldn’t be in that spot without Murphy, though.
“We talked about as a team that the beauty of changes in your roster allows opportunities for other guys coming into different roles,” Chatham manager Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger said of Murphy. “I'm really proud of Hayden. That's who he needs to be for us moving forward.”
It didn’t seem likely Chatham would ever need a closer. The Anglers held a 7-1 lead through five innings. Harwich starter Chance Mako was the ringmaster for a second-inning walk circus, where the A’s scored four runs off five walks and only one hit. A two-run single from Smithwick in the third and a Luke Cantwell (Pittsburgh) fifth-frame RBI made it a six-run lead.
Meanwhile, Anglers’ starter Tyler Kozera (UCF) was cruising. He allowed one run — a Macon Winslow second-inning solo homer — through six innings. Though he finished his outing with 6.2 innings pitched, Chatham’s longest start of the summer, Harwich figured him out.
Kozera gave up two more homers in the seventh, a solo home run to Jake Ogden and a two-run shot to Luke Heyman. The Mariners’ deficit shrunk to three. Kozera was promptly swapped for Devin Pressley, who didn’t fare much better in his Chatham debut. Matt Scannell hit a two-run tater off him and Pressley’s night ended amid the eighth — with the A’s up 7-6.
Chatham pitcher Hayden Murphy hurls a pitch during his four-out save in Chatham's 7-6 win over Harwich / Photograph by Ella Tovey
The déjà vu from Chatham’s comeback win over Harwich five days prior was palpable. In that matchup, also at Veterans Field, the Anglers stormed back from down seven and delivered a 13-12 triumph via a Smithwick walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning.
“I'm sure our win the other night gave (Harwich) some belief tonight that, ‘If they can do it, why not us?’” Smithwick said. “And good for them, rightfully so.”
Enter Murphy. He’d already been thrust into an important bullpen role this summer. Heading into the game, he’d made five appearances for 11.2 innings and tallied a 4.63 ERA, while his 16 strikeouts ranked second on the team. Eerily enough, Murphy pitched the last two innings of Chatham’s comeback win over Harwich and earned the winning decision.
This time, he earned his first save of the season.
Murphy relied heavily on his fastball, which he called his best pitch. He painted the zone, tossing 14 strikes of 21 pitches, and induced weak contact early in counts besides an eight-pitch at-bat to Barth for Murphy’s lone out of the eighth. A quick one-two-three top of the ninth finished off a perfect relief appearance and saved what could’ve been a disastrous loss.
The drive in which Murphy displayed extended beyond just wanting to win. He felt for Pressley, who he said had good stuff early before allowing a two-run homer in the eighth.
Murphy knows getting used to the Cape isn’t easy. He himself weathered a few rough outings to start his summer. The lowlight being a June 23 relief appearance at Cotuit where he allowed a three-run homer to Tanner Thach in the seventh and was deemed the losing pitcher. Murphy showed Pressley the exact path to where diligent adjustments pay off.
“I was just trying to pick up a teammate,” Murphy said of Pressley. “It was his first day.”
Murphy’s words reflect how Sheetinger’s message is spreading to the players. The first-year manager understands there are plenty of ebbs and flows that come with roster movement in the CCBL. Along with Hayes, fellow pitchers Pierce George (Alabama), Micah Ashman (Utah) and John Armstrong (Auburn) all left the team as well. Not to mention LSU star lefty Griffin Herring left more than a week ago, too.
Sheetinger emphasizes continuity. He keeps it consistent throughout the changes to his team by having outgoing players call incoming players to make sure they’re on the same page about what Chatham’s culture is like.
His plan is in action. New guys like Pressley will have time to find their stride through repetition and adaptation. For now, though, Sheetinger can deploy guys who’ve sewn themselves into the fabric of the team — like Murphy, who’s taken over for Hayes.
“That for us is a huge step to allow the communication to begin from the player to the next guy,” Sheetinger said. “Sort of pass the torch so that (new players) have an identity when they walk in here.”
