Playoff Baseball Returns To Chatham; Anglers Finish Second In East, Will Host Harwich

CHATHAM – The Chatham Anglers have approached the past few seasons with one goal in mind: return to the postseason.

Despite facing some unexpected challenges and adversities this summer, Chatham achieved its goal and earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.

The second-seeded Anglers (20-20) will host the third-seeded Harwich Mariners (16-24) in a single-elimination Division Series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Veterans field in Chatham. The winner will advance to the Division Championship series against the winner of Tuesday’s other Division Series matchup between No. 1 Yarmouth-Dennis and No. 4 Orleans.

“I’m super proud,” said Chatham interim manager Eric Beattie. “We’ve had over 60 guys here over the course of the season and it was a team effort. I’m proud of the guys and how they meshed together. We have five guys that decided to stay all summer, so that’s a big-time accomplishment for those guys. I’m looking forward to Tuesday, it’s going to be fun.”

Chatham secured the second seed with a 4-0 victory over Wareham on Aug. 1 before ending its regular season with a 7-1 loss to Orleans on Sunday night.

It’s been a trying summer for the Anglers, who had one of their best seasons in recent years despite unexpectedly losing their first-year manager Jeremy Sheetinger, who shocked the baseball world when he resigned as manager July 24.

Beattie was named interim manager after serving as pitching coach under Sheetinger, and he guided the team to a 4-5 record down the stretch.

Now Chatham turns its attention to rival Harwich. The Anglers held a 3-2 record in five meetings against the Mariners this fall, including a 5-4 win on Saturday at Veterans Field.

“They are a good ballclub,” Beattie said of Harwich. “They have some good arms and some good hitters throughout the lineup. They are a good team, it’s going to be a good game.”

Beattie said Lucas Hartman, a 6-foot righty from Florida Gulf Coast University, will start on the mound Tuesday. Hartman boasts a 1-0 record and 3.12 ERA in two appearances (both starts) for Chatham after making three starts for the Orlando Snappers in the Florida Collegiate Summer League earlier this summer.

“He seems to have super good composure,” Beattie said. “He has a lot of good pitches and he’s effective against both righties and lefties. He’s efficient, he throws a lot of strikes, and he’s been in big moments before. I think he’s going to do great.”

After securing the team’s first postseason berth since the ‘19 team entered the playoffs as the top seed before falling to Harwich, the Anglers will have to take care of business in a one-game playoff to have a chance to capture the organization’s sixth championship and first since 1998.

“I don’t love it, but we’re all playing the same format,” Beattie said about the opening round being single elimination. “It is what it is. We’re going to give everything we’ve got Tuesday so we can try to extend it.”

With so much at stake, Beattie and the Anglers are expecting a huge crowd at Veterans Field for their matchup against the Mariners.

“Chatham’s been super supportive of us this whole year,” he said. “I’m sure Tuesday’s going to be a lot of fun and there will be a lot of people out there to support the Anglers.”

See page 5 of this edition and capecodchronicle.com for a recap of Tuesday’s game.