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Anglers unleash season-highs in hits, runs in 14-8 win over Falmouth
Everything started to unravel for Chatham following an error from Robin Villeneuve (Texas Tech) at first base, leaving runners at first and second base with nobody out in the second inning.
Chatham led 4-1, but that advantage was erased in an instant. Jaxon Willits faced A’s starter Jacob Weaver (Austin Peay), who’d already allowed a no-doubt home run in the first inning to Zion Rose. Willits followed the same blueprint. Weaver hung a pitch over the plate, which Willits pummeled well over the right field wall, tying the game at 4-4.
Weaver’s nightmare didn’t end there. Trent Caraway stepped to the plate with a runner on first base. Caraway hammered the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for Falmouth’s sixth run in a row.
The homer signaled the end of Weaver’s night. The righty solemnly walked to the dugout as Chatham pitching coach Eric Beattie replaced Weaver with Murphy Brooks (Louisiana Lafayette). Weaver may have exited with a whimper, but the Anglers pushed past their early adversity.
Despite the early flurry, Chatham (14-11, East) used a season-high 17 hits to pull out a 14-8 road win over Falmouth (8-17, West) Wednesday. The Anglers and Commodores went back and forth, but six runs across the final two innings proved to be the difference for Chatham, which extended its winning streak to four.
“Every time you give the Anglers an opportunity late to win a ballgame, I feel like it always falls in our favor,” said A’s infielder Kyle Lodise (Georgia Tech).
Chatham patiently waited to break the game open against Falmouth. The Anglers held a lead on three separate occasions, but the Commodores kept creeping back. A four-run first inning created rumblings of a possible blowout, though that idea was quickly erased.
Ike Irish (Auburn) started a two-out first-inning rally with a low line drive off Falmouth starter Sean Brennan’s leg. The ball spun toward Willits at second base. Willits attempted to poke it to first and get Irish, but he beat out the throw.
In the ensuing at-bat, John Bay (Austin Peay) clubbed a pitch to left field. Gavin Turley stared into the sky, searching for the ball, but ran out of room as Bay’s ball escaped over the fence, putting Chatham up 2-0.
John Bay rounds third base and gestures toward Chatham's dugout after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning against Falmouth / Photograph by Ella Tovey
Aiva Arquette singled and Villeneuve followed, but Jayson Jones misplayed the ball in right field. Jones’ mistake allowed Arquette to score and Villeneuve advanced to third. Lodise drove in Chatham’s fourth run of the inning with another single.
Then came Falmouth’s home run barrage as it took a 6-4 lead. Brooks provided stability out of the bullpen, allowing just one run in 2.1 innings as Chatham jumped back in front in the top of the fourth.
Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) loaded the bases with a bunt single as Tom Chmielewski entered for Brennan in an attempt to limit the damage. Two straight fielder's choices from Aston Larson (LSU) and Ty Johnson (Baylor) leveled the game again.
Irish punctuated Chatham’s fight back with another infield hit. He drove another sharply hit ball to Gavin Kilen, who was on the move up the middle. Isaiah Barkett couldn’t scoop out Kilen’s low throw, allowing Larson to score and put Chatham in front 7-6.
“This group taps into a level of toughness that they maybe didn't know was there,” Chatham manager Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger said postgame. “You're always tougher when you feel like you got people behind you.”
Donovan LaSalle tied the game 7-7 with a double in the bottom of the frame while each team exchanged a single run in the sixth inning, leaving them deadlocked heading into the eighth.
From there, Chatham took the lead for a fourth and final time. Lodise walked and Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) roped a single into right field, placing runners on first and second. Despite facing a 1-2 count, Smithwick laid down another bunt toward Caraway. The third basement fired high to first, pulling Barkett off the bag.
Lodise stayed ready and sprinted down the line trying to score. Initially beaten by Barkett’s throw, Lodise somehow avoided the tag, yet didn’t touch home plate. After standing up, the Chatham dugout yelled at Lodise to put his foot on the plate. He quickly obliged and put the A’s up 9-8.
Initially, Lodise felt he touched home, but when the umpire didn’t make a call he realized he missed. Luckily for Lodise, Bowen didn’t notice that Lodise missed and he easily tapped his foot on home for the go-ahead run.
“We put them in some unique situations and their ability to execute and follow through with what we were trying to do, I thought was impressive,” Sheetinger said of his team’s execution on the bunt.
The Anglers made no doubt in the following inning. Two straight doubles from Villeneuve and Lodise made it 11-8. With Smithwick up, Lodise took off for third and scored when Bowen chucked the ball into left field. Smithwick’s third base knock gave Chatham its largest lead of the game before Larson tacked on another via sacrifice for his third RBI.
Chatham stuck with Jacob Heath (West Florida) to close out the ninth. Heath took over for Gabe Van Emon (UConn) — who went two innings with one earned run — after the Commodores scored their eighth run.
Heath dominated in his Anglers debut. The righty retired the first seven batters he faced, allowing Chatham to push ahead and put the game out of Falmouth’s reach. It was business as usual for Heath in the ninth. He struck out Bowen and got Kilen and LaSalle to fly out, sealing the Anglers’ win.
“When they make a decision, they can beat anybody,” Sheetinger said. “They're a really good team, so we're trying to dial in into that and let them play."
Chatham led 4-1, but that advantage was erased in an instant. Jaxon Willits faced A’s starter Jacob Weaver (Austin Peay), who’d already allowed a no-doubt home run in the first inning to Zion Rose. Willits followed the same blueprint. Weaver hung a pitch over the plate, which Willits pummeled well over the right field wall, tying the game at 4-4.
Weaver’s nightmare didn’t end there. Trent Caraway stepped to the plate with a runner on first base. Caraway hammered the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence for Falmouth’s sixth run in a row.
The homer signaled the end of Weaver’s night. The righty solemnly walked to the dugout as Chatham pitching coach Eric Beattie replaced Weaver with Murphy Brooks (Louisiana Lafayette). Weaver may have exited with a whimper, but the Anglers pushed past their early adversity.
Despite the early flurry, Chatham (14-11, East) used a season-high 17 hits to pull out a 14-8 road win over Falmouth (8-17, West) Wednesday. The Anglers and Commodores went back and forth, but six runs across the final two innings proved to be the difference for Chatham, which extended its winning streak to four.
“Every time you give the Anglers an opportunity late to win a ballgame, I feel like it always falls in our favor,” said A’s infielder Kyle Lodise (Georgia Tech).
Chatham patiently waited to break the game open against Falmouth. The Anglers held a lead on three separate occasions, but the Commodores kept creeping back. A four-run first inning created rumblings of a possible blowout, though that idea was quickly erased.
Ike Irish (Auburn) started a two-out first-inning rally with a low line drive off Falmouth starter Sean Brennan’s leg. The ball spun toward Willits at second base. Willits attempted to poke it to first and get Irish, but he beat out the throw.
In the ensuing at-bat, John Bay (Austin Peay) clubbed a pitch to left field. Gavin Turley stared into the sky, searching for the ball, but ran out of room as Bay’s ball escaped over the fence, putting Chatham up 2-0.
John Bay rounds third base and gestures toward Chatham's dugout after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning against Falmouth / Photograph by Ella Tovey
Aiva Arquette singled and Villeneuve followed, but Jayson Jones misplayed the ball in right field. Jones’ mistake allowed Arquette to score and Villeneuve advanced to third. Lodise drove in Chatham’s fourth run of the inning with another single.
Then came Falmouth’s home run barrage as it took a 6-4 lead. Brooks provided stability out of the bullpen, allowing just one run in 2.1 innings as Chatham jumped back in front in the top of the fourth.
Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) loaded the bases with a bunt single as Tom Chmielewski entered for Brennan in an attempt to limit the damage. Two straight fielder's choices from Aston Larson (LSU) and Ty Johnson (Baylor) leveled the game again.
Irish punctuated Chatham’s fight back with another infield hit. He drove another sharply hit ball to Gavin Kilen, who was on the move up the middle. Isaiah Barkett couldn’t scoop out Kilen’s low throw, allowing Larson to score and put Chatham in front 7-6.
“This group taps into a level of toughness that they maybe didn't know was there,” Chatham manager Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger said postgame. “You're always tougher when you feel like you got people behind you.”
Donovan LaSalle tied the game 7-7 with a double in the bottom of the frame while each team exchanged a single run in the sixth inning, leaving them deadlocked heading into the eighth.
From there, Chatham took the lead for a fourth and final time. Lodise walked and Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) roped a single into right field, placing runners on first and second. Despite facing a 1-2 count, Smithwick laid down another bunt toward Caraway. The third basement fired high to first, pulling Barkett off the bag.
Lodise stayed ready and sprinted down the line trying to score. Initially beaten by Barkett’s throw, Lodise somehow avoided the tag, yet didn’t touch home plate. After standing up, the Chatham dugout yelled at Lodise to put his foot on the plate. He quickly obliged and put the A’s up 9-8.
Initially, Lodise felt he touched home, but when the umpire didn’t make a call he realized he missed. Luckily for Lodise, Bowen didn’t notice that Lodise missed and he easily tapped his foot on home for the go-ahead run.
“We put them in some unique situations and their ability to execute and follow through with what we were trying to do, I thought was impressive,” Sheetinger said of his team’s execution on the bunt.
The Anglers made no doubt in the following inning. Two straight doubles from Villeneuve and Lodise made it 11-8. With Smithwick up, Lodise took off for third and scored when Bowen chucked the ball into left field. Smithwick’s third base knock gave Chatham its largest lead of the game before Larson tacked on another via sacrifice for his third RBI.
Chatham stuck with Jacob Heath (West Florida) to close out the ninth. Heath took over for Gabe Van Emon (UConn) — who went two innings with one earned run — after the Commodores scored their eighth run.
Heath dominated in his Anglers debut. The righty retired the first seven batters he faced, allowing Chatham to push ahead and put the game out of Falmouth’s reach. It was business as usual for Heath in the ninth. He struck out Bowen and got Kilen and LaSalle to fly out, sealing the Anglers’ win.
“When they make a decision, they can beat anybody,” Sheetinger said. “They're a really good team, so we're trying to dial in into that and let them play."
