Ashton Larson’s body language reassured to the masses that Chatham would not blow its eight-run lead over Hyannis Wednesday. But moments earlier, the sky was falling.

Harbor Hawks designated hitter Mason White launched a bases-loaded fly ball to the right-field warning track as the A’s led 10-6 in the top of the ninth inning. All of a sudden, in a game that had elements of a run-rule victory, the game-tying home-run ball was destined for the other side of the blue mesh fence at Veterans Field.

Center fielder Ty Johnson said on the Anglers Extra Postgame Show that White’s shot was well on its way over the wall. He put his hands on his head in shock at what he thought would be a grim turn of events. Yet he was left praising Larson, who reached his glove up over the railing, without needing to jump, and snagged the soon-to-be game-tying homer.

For interim manager Eric Beattie, seeing Larson calmly drift left and track the ball to a tee quelled his concerns of an impending disaster.

“He looked like he had it, so I settled down a little bit before it landed,” Beattie said of Larson’s robbed home run.

It was only fitting Larson (LSU) came up with the penultimate putout to seal the A’s victory. He clobbered a grand slam in the fifth inning to put Chatham (18-18, East) up 6-2 over Hyannis (21-14-1, West). Four batters later, Johnson (Baylor) blasted the Anglers’ second grand slam of the frame. Larson and Johnson’s first homers of the summer bookended an eight-run inning for Chatham, which escaped with a 10-7 win courtesy of the duo’s mid-game heroics.

Larson and Johnson are not the power-hitting type. The speedy, shifty outfielders hit for contact and flash the leather on defense. Though with most of Chatham’s long-ball culprits off the roster — like Ike Irish (Auburn), John Bay (Austin Peay) and Aiva Arquette — someone needed to step up. Especially against Hyannis, which had the A’s number entering the night.


The Anglers were utterly destroyed in two losses to the Harbor Hawks in 2024. Hyannis outscored them 17-0 across a pair of contests at McKeon Park. But Larson and Johnson gave the Harbor Hawks a taste of their own medicine. This time, at Veterans Field. With the game locked at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the A’s loaded the bases off Hyannis reliever Maison Martinez, who Chatham teed off on after starter Grant Stevens was pulled. Larson tapped his cleats with the barrel of his pitch-black bat in the left-handed batter’s box as he awaited Martinez’s sixth pitch of the at-bat.

The delivery was a high fastball, which Larson pummeled to atop the hill peering over the right-field wall at Veterans Field. He briefly stood still to admire his moon shot, then emphatically dropped his bat to the dirt before trotting the bases to make it 6-2 Chatham.

“Oh, it definitely felt good off the bat,” Larson said with a smile postgame. “I stayed in a good position for it and hit through it well.”

That wasn’t it. Jayden Davis (Vanderbilt) singled, Campbell Smithwick (Ole Miss) doubled and Robin Villeneuve (Texas Tech) walked all in succession to load the bases once again. It was Johnson’s turn to repeat Larson’s deed. And he did, drilling a line drive just over the fence in right-center field. The Anglers scored eight runs in five at-bats.

It set up what seemed to be an easy path to the finish line. A’s reliever Tanner Franklin (Tennessee) walked in a run in the top of the sixth, but it proved to be insignificant. Hyannis needed a miracle to cancel out Chatham’s sequel of grand slams.

The game certainly ended way too close for the Anglers’ comfort. Cameron Johnson (Oklahoma) walked two runs in and was replaced after garnering just one out. Andrew Williams (Georgetown) brought another Harbor Hawks run home on a free pass. With a four-run advantage, White’s one-out sacrifice fly in the ninth could’ve yielded a shocking blown lead for Chatham.


Though, Larson hauled in the stand-up home-run robbery, and Villeneuve snared a hot line drive to first base by Blake Cavill to seal the Anglers’ second consecutive victory.

Larson said all he was thinking about was getting to the wall as quickly as possible. He knew it’d be a do-or-die play. The ball was perfectly in reach for the right fielder to extend his right arm and grasp it in his mitt.

“It’s not too much thought,” Larson said. “Just go make a play.”
The LSU product did it all against Hyannis. Not only did he — potentially — save the game, but his 3-for-5 performance at the plate makes for one of his best outings in an Anglers uniform. The fifth-inning grand slams by Larson and Johnson were all Chatham wound up needing to capture victory, even considering the late drama.

It was the second straight night where the Anglers plated double-digit runs and double-digit hits. They scored 13 times and accumulated 13 knocks against Brewster Tuesday, then put up 10 and 11, respectively, versus Hyannis Wednesday.

Beattie feels that his hitters are staying on pitches better than they had been amid a four-game losing streak. He added that the team discussed the importance of working counts with patience, and was pleased to see Larson extend his at-bat to six pitches before he smacked a grand slam. The adjustments are paying off for the playoff-bound Anglers, who are one win away from shoring up a first-round home game at Veterans Field.

“It’s about getting another opportunity to get a good pitch to hit,” Beattie said. “And when these guys get a good pitch to hit, they usually do some damage.”