Anglers hand Bravos first road loss of season behind three-run first inning

By: Nick Galle 

After the Braves had 10-run, 15-hit offensive explosion on Saturday night, Dalton Rushing wasted no time getting the offense going again. The Louisville Cardinal launched a ball onto the street over the right-field fence in the top of the first inning, which was his fifth hit in his last six at-bats. It was quite the start, but Rushing’s solo blast ultimately ended up being just one of two runs that Bourne was able to bring across the plate in Chatham.

The Bravos strung together seven hits, but could not overcome a three-run bottom of the first from the Anglers. Chatham tacked on two more runs in the second inning, and Bourne went on to fall 5-2, its first road loss of the season.

Field manager Harvey Shapiro had to go to the bullpen early, as starter Hunter Omlid could not record an out in the second inning. Michael Sansone’s relief outing started earlier than expected, as he came on in the bottom of the second, but the Fairfield Stag was up for the challenge. The left-hander went five innings, gave up three hits, one run and struck out eight.

“I felt good, threw a lot of off-speed today, more than normal. (I) just felt really good with my changeup, so I kept going to that and it kept working,” Sansone said. “I actually changed my grip to what I’m throwing now about mid-season this year, so it’s something I throw a lot, pretty much every day. So I put a lot of work into that, and it’s really showing now.”

With yet another strong appearance from Sansone in the books, Dylan Bowers made his summer debut after being activated July 8. He went one inning, allowed one hit, walked one and struck out two.

“I was a little nervous at first for that first batter, but after that (I) just settled in, just did my thing, was good to be out there and contribute a little bit,” Bowers said. “At the end of the day, everyone here is pretty good, but my job is just to attack guys and not fear who’s in the box and just do what I do.”

Joe Lampe had his third consecutive multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with two base hits. Cayden Wallace went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, Braylen Wimmer went 1-for-4 with one RBI and Josh Moylan went 1-for-4 with a single.

Bourne will be on the road again tomorrow in Hyannis at 6 p.m. for a matchup with the Harbor Hawks. Last time the two teams met, the Bravos came away with a 3-0 win on Opening Day. Hyannis currently has the worst record in the league at 2-14-0.

Cover photo via: Joe Sullivan