The Whitecaps Can’t Escape a 5-0 Hole in 7-2 Loss to Chatham

By: Koki Riley

​BREWSTER, M.A. – It was a hole that was too deep to climb.
 
Down 5-0 in the second inning, the Brewster Whitecaps (13-16-1) once again found themselves behind early in a ballgame. A reoccurring theme in many of the teams defeats this summer.
 
Against Wareham last Sunday Brewster was down 4-0 midway through the second inning. Last Thursday the Whitecaps trailed 3-0 after two frames versus Y-D. And a week ago Brewster fell behind 6-3 through three innings against Orleans.
 
And on Tuesday evening against the Anglers (19-11-2) the Whitecaps trailed after a tough outing on the mound from Chance Huff (Vanderbilt). In his second start, and appearance, on the Cape, Huff surrendered five earned runs in 1.2 innings of work while walking three and allowing six hits in the eventual 7-2 defeat.
 
The Whitecaps offense has been less than stellar in recent games. But, the pressure of having to come from behind in each game makes the job for Brewster’s bats much more difficult.
 
“The first three innings of a ballgame dictate how the ballgame is going to go,” Whitecaps hitting coach Ryan Smyth said after the loss. “When you’re down by a few runs early it kind of limits what you can do as an offense.
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“It’s harder to run. It’s harder to do some of those things that make us a dynamic offense.”
 
For an offense that has relied on the long ball all summer, Brewster is without a home run in their last three games.
 
“We had a lot of runners on base tonight,” Smyth said. “We just didn’t come up with some key hits tonight.
 
“Each run is like a bar of gold out here.”
 
After back-to-back matchups against the divisional leaders, Brewster now turns their attention to Wednesday evening against Harwich.
 
Now a point ahead of the Whitecaps following a 4-3 win over Hyannis on Tuesday, Brewster’s matchup versus the Mariners will be a great test to see where the Whitecaps stand against a Harwich that has been neck and neck with them since the start of July.
 
First pitch between Brewster and Harwich from Stony Brook Field on Wednesday will be at 5 p.m.

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