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Chatham drops road contest 5-2 to Harwich, loses 4th straight game
Any time Chatham falls behind by a massive deficit, it can always refer to July 7. That evening, the Anglers stormed back from down seven runs to shock Harwich and send the game into the 10th inning. Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly, clinching a 13-12 win for the A’s in their most heart-pounding finish of the year.
The pure thrill and excitement which swirled through Veterans Field would have to be replicated 22 days later against the same opponent, yet at a different field. The Anglers trailed to the Mariners by four early. Chatham’s hitters struck out eight times through five innings versus Harwich starter Bryson Bales. The A’s were at a standstill, and needed a spark.
They received little of the sort, however, accounting for just four hits on the evening. A short-lived comeback attempt across the eighth and ninth innings wasn’t nearly enough to repeat history.
Chatham (16-18, East) fell on the road to Harwich (13-22, East) 5-2 Monday night. A win would have clinched their first CCBL playoff appearance since 2019. Instead, the Anglers lost their fourth straight contest. Chatham’s bullpen limited the Mariners down the stretch but its lineup combined for 14 strikeouts against Harwich’s pitching staff, a recipe for doom.
In spite of it all, the Anglers still had a decent shot at tying the game in its final stages. They scored a run in the eighth off an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 5-2. Then to start the ninth, First baseman Robin Villeneuve (Texas Tech) and left fielder Luke Yuhasz (Louisiana Lafayette) each reached base via a single and a walk, respectively. All of a sudden, Smithwick stepped to the plate as the tying run.
“We’ve been going down early in some games and the guys are staying in it,” Chatham interim manager Eric Beattie said postgame. “And it felt like in three of the last four innings there, we had it.”
Yet Beattie said he would’ve wished his squad to come away with some more runs in the final frame. The Anglers were held to zero. Smithwick struck out. Then, Kyle Lodise (Georgia Tech) drilled a high-arcing fly ball to deep left field to elicit brief hope of a game-tying homer, but it drooped short of the fence and into Matt Scannell’s glove.
Ultimately, the A’s loss resulted from a lopsided beginning. Left-hander Garrett Helsel (SIU Edwardsville) wound up tossing 5.1 innings for the third-longest start by a Chatham pitcher thus far in 2024. Though, it was rocky early.
The third batter Helsel faced, Cade Kurland, laced a high fly ball that curled around the left-field foul pole and over the wall for a solo homer. The Mariners held a 1-0 lead after connecting against Helsel out of the gate.
Back in his first-ever CCBL start on July 21, Helsel hardly got touched. He fanned 10 Brewster batters — the most by any Anglers pitcher this summer — in 6.1 innings of two-hit baseball to pave the way for a 7-3 Chatham victory. Two of Helsel’s three earned runs came while he was subbed out of the game.
Monday was much different.
Helsel loaded the bases in the bottom half off two singles and a hit by pitch. He then issued a walk to Ryan Weingartner that allowed a run to score. A mound visit from Beattie didn’t do much to prevent an ensuing two-run single by Aiden Robbins. Through two innings, Chatham trailed 4-0. Helsel already had more runs allowed than his first start.
In his second start with Chatham, Garrett Helsel tossed 5.1 innings allowing five earned runs on six hits while striking out seven batters / Photograph by Ella Tovey
Meanwhile, the Anglers’ offense was static. Will Bermudez (UC Irvine) and Ashton Larson (LSU) started the first two respective innings off with singles, yet Bales faced the minimum in both. Ike Irish (Auburn) was caught stealing in the first and Villeneuve grounded into a double play in the second.
Bales faced the minimum again in the third. This time, though, he struck out the side. Bermudez struck out swinging to start the fourth inning, which made it four straight Ks for Angler batters. Bales increased his streak to five after K’ing Irish on a swing.
While Chayton Krauss (Dallas Baptist) walked to avoid six consecutive Chatham strikeouts, Larson grounded out to first base to end the inning as Harwich’s shutout persisted.
More than half of the game remained, but the early portion made the A’s four-run deficit appear insurmountable.
“I think in the middle of the game there, we just lost tempo,” Beattie said. “In this game, hitting can be contagious. So we just got used to striking out there temporarily.”
Helsel settled down with a pair of one-two-three innings in the third and fourth. It set the Anglers up to plate their first run, which came in the top of the fifth. Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) reached on an error by Kurland at second base to lead off the inning, and he eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice groundout by Smithwick.
Though, that was all the A’s mustered. Villeneuve was left stranded at third base when Lodise struck out looking to end the frame — Chatham’s eighth K.
The Mariners fell flat in the bottom half as Helsel completed his third perfect frame in a row. Yet the Anglers couldn’t plate runs in back-to-back frames. It opened the door for Harwich’s offense once again, and an RBI single from Jake Ogden increased the Mariners’ lead.
With two outs in the sixth, Helsel was pulled for righty reliever Garrett Payne. Helsel showed plenty of valiance by weathering early troubles to salvage a decent start, racking up seven Ks and just one run after the second inning.
“That was big for our team,” Beattie said of Helsel’s outing. “We got a seven-game stretch here and for him to have a rough start and still get out there for some of the sixth inning was huge to save some bullpen arms.”
Helsel didn’t receive much help from the Anglers’ offense, which remained relatively quiet after the pitching change.
Harwich reliever Danny Macchiarola bulldozed through Davis, Villeneuve and Yuhasz for a one-two-three top of the seventh. Macchiarola faced some trouble in the eighth, as Smithwick scored after Bermudez stole second and the throw from Harwich catcher Willson Weber squeaked into center field.
But Macchiarola escaped without further blemishes, inducing a groundout from Krauss and striking out Larson to end Chatham’s best shot at plating a litany of runs.
The pure thrill and excitement which swirled through Veterans Field would have to be replicated 22 days later against the same opponent, yet at a different field. The Anglers trailed to the Mariners by four early. Chatham’s hitters struck out eight times through five innings versus Harwich starter Bryson Bales. The A’s were at a standstill, and needed a spark.
They received little of the sort, however, accounting for just four hits on the evening. A short-lived comeback attempt across the eighth and ninth innings wasn’t nearly enough to repeat history.
Chatham (16-18, East) fell on the road to Harwich (13-22, East) 5-2 Monday night. A win would have clinched their first CCBL playoff appearance since 2019. Instead, the Anglers lost their fourth straight contest. Chatham’s bullpen limited the Mariners down the stretch but its lineup combined for 14 strikeouts against Harwich’s pitching staff, a recipe for doom.
In spite of it all, the Anglers still had a decent shot at tying the game in its final stages. They scored a run in the eighth off an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 5-2. Then to start the ninth, First baseman Robin Villeneuve (Texas Tech) and left fielder Luke Yuhasz (Louisiana Lafayette) each reached base via a single and a walk, respectively. All of a sudden, Smithwick stepped to the plate as the tying run.
“We’ve been going down early in some games and the guys are staying in it,” Chatham interim manager Eric Beattie said postgame. “And it felt like in three of the last four innings there, we had it.”
Yet Beattie said he would’ve wished his squad to come away with some more runs in the final frame. The Anglers were held to zero. Smithwick struck out. Then, Kyle Lodise (Georgia Tech) drilled a high-arcing fly ball to deep left field to elicit brief hope of a game-tying homer, but it drooped short of the fence and into Matt Scannell’s glove.
Ultimately, the A’s loss resulted from a lopsided beginning. Left-hander Garrett Helsel (SIU Edwardsville) wound up tossing 5.1 innings for the third-longest start by a Chatham pitcher thus far in 2024. Though, it was rocky early.
The third batter Helsel faced, Cade Kurland, laced a high fly ball that curled around the left-field foul pole and over the wall for a solo homer. The Mariners held a 1-0 lead after connecting against Helsel out of the gate.
Back in his first-ever CCBL start on July 21, Helsel hardly got touched. He fanned 10 Brewster batters — the most by any Anglers pitcher this summer — in 6.1 innings of two-hit baseball to pave the way for a 7-3 Chatham victory. Two of Helsel’s three earned runs came while he was subbed out of the game.
Monday was much different.
Helsel loaded the bases in the bottom half off two singles and a hit by pitch. He then issued a walk to Ryan Weingartner that allowed a run to score. A mound visit from Beattie didn’t do much to prevent an ensuing two-run single by Aiden Robbins. Through two innings, Chatham trailed 4-0. Helsel already had more runs allowed than his first start.
In his second start with Chatham, Garrett Helsel tossed 5.1 innings allowing five earned runs on six hits while striking out seven batters / Photograph by Ella Tovey
Meanwhile, the Anglers’ offense was static. Will Bermudez (UC Irvine) and Ashton Larson (LSU) started the first two respective innings off with singles, yet Bales faced the minimum in both. Ike Irish (Auburn) was caught stealing in the first and Villeneuve grounded into a double play in the second.
Bales faced the minimum again in the third. This time, though, he struck out the side. Bermudez struck out swinging to start the fourth inning, which made it four straight Ks for Angler batters. Bales increased his streak to five after K’ing Irish on a swing.
While Chayton Krauss (Dallas Baptist) walked to avoid six consecutive Chatham strikeouts, Larson grounded out to first base to end the inning as Harwich’s shutout persisted.
More than half of the game remained, but the early portion made the A’s four-run deficit appear insurmountable.
“I think in the middle of the game there, we just lost tempo,” Beattie said. “In this game, hitting can be contagious. So we just got used to striking out there temporarily.”
Helsel settled down with a pair of one-two-three innings in the third and fourth. It set the Anglers up to plate their first run, which came in the top of the fifth. Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) reached on an error by Kurland at second base to lead off the inning, and he eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice groundout by Smithwick.
Though, that was all the A’s mustered. Villeneuve was left stranded at third base when Lodise struck out looking to end the frame — Chatham’s eighth K.
The Mariners fell flat in the bottom half as Helsel completed his third perfect frame in a row. Yet the Anglers couldn’t plate runs in back-to-back frames. It opened the door for Harwich’s offense once again, and an RBI single from Jake Ogden increased the Mariners’ lead.
With two outs in the sixth, Helsel was pulled for righty reliever Garrett Payne. Helsel showed plenty of valiance by weathering early troubles to salvage a decent start, racking up seven Ks and just one run after the second inning.
“That was big for our team,” Beattie said of Helsel’s outing. “We got a seven-game stretch here and for him to have a rough start and still get out there for some of the sixth inning was huge to save some bullpen arms.”
Helsel didn’t receive much help from the Anglers’ offense, which remained relatively quiet after the pitching change.
Harwich reliever Danny Macchiarola bulldozed through Davis, Villeneuve and Yuhasz for a one-two-three top of the seventh. Macchiarola faced some trouble in the eighth, as Smithwick scored after Bermudez stole second and the throw from Harwich catcher Willson Weber squeaked into center field.
But Macchiarola escaped without further blemishes, inducing a groundout from Krauss and striking out Larson to end Chatham’s best shot at plating a litany of runs.
