Daily Fog: Streak Stopping

As the ninth-inning fog thickened, Addison Johnson looked at right-fielder Whit Merrifield and threw up his hands, in a what-can-we-do kind of gesture.

I don’t know what he was worried about.

My dad and I got to Chatham late last night after I made the trip over from Rhode Island, so we missed Johnson’s spectacular catch. If he had needed to make another one, even in the thick fog, he probably would have been able to.

It was that kind of night for the Anglers, and they needed it.

The Anglers beat Brewster 10-1 to snap a seven-game losing streak. As crucial as it was to stop the skid, it was just as big to beat the Whitecaps, who came into the game tied with Chatham for third in the East — and for the final playoff spot, as it’s shaking out now.

Chatham’s defense shined all night, even in the few innings I saw, and the offense did the rest. Joey Terdoslavich (Long Beach State) went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Matt Duffy (Vermont) drove in two. They backed Shawn Tolleson (Baylor), who allowed one run on four hits in six strong innings.

Elsewhere

• Another streak came to an end last night as Harwich beat Y-D 8-4, snapping the Red Sox’ nine-game winning streak. Justin Wright (Virginia Tech), who has been mostly a reliever this summer, got the start for Harwich and allowed two runs in five innings. Harwich scored three earned runs but four unearned against Y-D starter John Leonard (Boston College). Trent Mummey (Auburn) and Connor Powers (Mississippi State) hit home runs for the Mariners. Leon Landry (LSU) had three hits and three RBI.

• Bourne and Wareham both posted blowout victories to keep the top of the West standings looking the same, with Bourne ahead by a point. The Braves beat Cotuit 13-1 thanks to an 11-hit attack, powered in large part by Raynor Campbell (Baylor). Campbell, who had five RBI this summer coming into last night, drove in six runs in last night’s game alone. He also went 4-for-5 with a home run. Bourne starter Alex Wimmers (Ohio State) was dominant in five innings of work, striking out 10 and allowing a run on four hits.

• Wareham kept pace with a 10-3 victory over Hyannis. George Springer (Connecticut) broke the game open with a two-run homer in the fifth, and he finished with two hits and three RBI. Alex Dickerson (Indiana) had three hits for the Gatemen, with Shea Vucinich (Washington State) and Jordan Swagerty (Arizona State) getting two each. Blake Monar (Indiana) allowed two earned runs in seven innings to pick up the win.

• Orleans beat Falmouth 6-5 in 12 innings. The winning run scored on a controversial play when Jaren Matthews (Rutgers) grounded into a fielder’s choice, before an errant throw to get him at first base allowed the game-winning run to score. Danny Muno (Fresno State) had four hits for the Firebirds and Devin Lohman (Long Beach State) had two RBI.

• A special note on Falmouth’s Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville State). With a 3-for-5 night against Orleans, Cunningham raised his league-leading average to .405. Cunningham is seven for his last 14. With eight games left, he’s got a shot to hit .400. No one with enough at-bats to qualify has hit .400 this decade, which is as about as far back as you can look on the league’s web site. The highest league-leading average this decade was J.C. Holt’s .388 in 2003. Jimmy Cesario hit .387 last year, but that happened without him playing after the all-star game.

RELATED POSTS