Gatemen beat Chatham 9-0 to clinch Playoffs for second straight year
Article By: Joseph McLaughlin
Wareham, Mass — It was a hot and humid evening at Spillane Field as the Wareham Gatemen welcomed the Chatham Anglers for their final matchup against the East Division foe this season.
One word that was on everyone’s mind before, during, and after the game was the playoffs. With there being six games left in the regular season, every Cape Cod Baseball League team eyed the potential for a playoff berth, with some having easier roads than others.
The Gatemen, who are atop the West Division, was one of those teams that had an easy road as they only needed a win and a Falmouth loss to clinch, and they got both done on Tuesday.
The Wareham Gatemen (19-16) defeated the Chatham Anglers (14-18-3) by a score of 9-0 on Tuesday. The win and Falmouth’s 10-3 loss to the Y-D Red Sox earlier that afternoon confirm the punching of Wareham’s ticket to the 2025 CCBL postseason, as no matter how the final five games go for Wareham, they will finish ahead of the Commodores in the standings.
The berth is the Gatemen’s second consecutive since achieving their first playoff appearance since 2019 in 2024. It is a huge achievement for the ball club, but one that they are looking to turn into a West Division crown.
“It feels great to get to the postseason,” Wareham Gatemen Field Manager Ryan Smyth said. “That's the goal coming out here, is to get into the playoffs and give yourself a shot at a championship. It's good to get that out of the way; now we have some work to do. I think these guys are eyeing a Division Championship and at the very least a one or two seed to have home field advantage in the playoffs.”
To get there, the Gatemen still have work to do in these upcoming final five games of the regular season; more on that later.
The Gatemen started off the game hot. In the bottom of the first, Center Fielder Hayden Yost (Florida) was quick to get the Gatemen’s offense rolling.
He struck a bloop hit into shallow center field, then took advantage of Chatham’s slow defense to extend what would normally be a single into a double. He then would score thanks to a fielder’s choice hit by Left Fielder Chase Krewson (Rutgers) to give the Gatemen a 1-0 lead.
Yost would strike again in the third inning with a leadoff home run, his third of the summer, to kick off a three-run rally. It was the beginning of a three-for-five night with three runs, an RBI, and, defensively, a fantastic diving catch out in center field to take away a double from Chatham.
“I thought I'd try to be pretty aggressive at the plate today. And obviously, I put a good swing on a pitch to get the home run. Then defensively, I just try to save runs out there. That's my job as a center fielder. So I was able to do that tonight, which is pretty cool,” said Yost.
Yost was not the only one who heated up during the game. Designated Hitter Caden McDonald (Florida) broke out of his mini-slump from the previous three games and delivered a great night, going two-for-four with a walk, two RBIs, and a run, giving the Gatemen’s offense a much-needed spark.
“I wanted to see the ball fall. It’d been a few games since I saw that. So, to get that kind of infield hit, put a decent swing on it, and reach base safely, I feel like that started turning things in the right direction again. Then, on the home run, I just looked for a good pitch to hit from that guy. We've faced him before, so we’ve seen a lot of pitches from him, which helped a lot,” said McDonald
McDonald joined Yost in the third inning rally by crushing a two-run home run to deep left field to score First Baseman Chris McHugh (NC State) and make it a 4-0 lead for Wareham.
The Gatemen would strike again in the fifth and sixth innings. McHugh scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to make it 5-0, then Wareham scored four runs in the sixth.
Shortstop Chris Ramirez (California Baptist) hit a sacrifice fly deep to right field to score Second Baseman Jack Kail (Columbia), who made his debut as a starter after pinch-hitting for one at-bat during Sunday’s game against Hyannis.
Then, Catcher Drew Rogers (Georgia Tech) scored on a balk while Yost was batting. Krewson then hit an RBI single to right field to score Yost, and Right Fielder Colby Turner (Michigan) hit a sacrifice fly to score McHugh, giving the Gatemen a 9-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
A significant reason for that was their pitching, which has been dominant for them in the second half of this season.
Tuesday was the debut start for Left-Handed Pitcher TJ Schlageter (Louisville). Schlageter has been a fantastic pitcher for the Gatemen this summer, but he had only been used as a relief pitcher until Tuesday.
His first start was fantastic, going three innings scoreless, allowing only one hit, the only one the Anglers would get all night, two walks, and striking out two batters. It was a great performance for a pitcher getting adjusted to the role, especially with the postseason around the corner.
“It was good. I found out a few days ago I’d be starting and, luckily, I did start some games back at school, so I knew my routine and how to go about it. I put my faith in the Lord and just trusted that I was gonna go out there and fill it up and give my team a chance. So I was happy I was able to do that,” said Schlageter.
“He's been great out of the bullpen for us, and especially in those stretch roles of two or three innings. He fills up the zone with three or four pitches for strikes, and we thought going into the playoffs of you know, having a lefty starter would be ideal. He's a guy that we know what we're going to get. He's reliable. He wants to be out here, wants to pitch. He's a competitor. He's got that different look in his eyes when he's on that mound, and I love seeing that,” said Smyth.
Schlageter was not the only pitcher who performed well, however. It was the debut for both Pitchers Tommy Egan (Troy) and Canaan Clayton (Louisiana-Monroe), who both threw two innings scoreless, with Egan getting three strikeouts and Clayton getting one. Then, Pitcher Griffin O’Connor (Georgetown) closed out the game, pitching two innings scoreless with three strikeouts.
The win was a huge achievement for the Gatemen, marking their second consecutive playoff berth after securing their first in five seasons the previous summer. The 2024 team set a new standard of winning last year, but this year’s team wants to climb even higher and get a West Division title, something the Gatemen have not done since 2018, the last time they won the CCBL Championship.
“I think it's awesome to clinch a spot. We've worked the whole summer to clinch the playoffs. So that's step one, but I think we have a lot of steps to go. This team is talented, and it's awesome to be in the playoffs, but we’ve got more to come,” said Yost.
“It starts with returning guys. Players like Jacob Faulkner (Vanderbilt) and Patrick Galle (Ole Miss), who aren’t here anymore, but players like Turner and those guys set the tone for this year. They know what the expectation is after having a taste of it last year, last summer, and that's a goal of mine and the coaching staff every summer. We don’t come out here to finish in the last play. We do everything we can to make sure we're in the playoffs every year,” said Smyth.
To capture home-field advantage in the postseason, the Gatemen will need to finish in the top two spots of the West. They currently hold the top spot, and if it remains that way for the rest of the season, they will get that Division title.
However, there are still five games remaining in the season, and the Gatemen have to face the Bourne Braves on Wednesday, who sit two games behind them after a 4-2 loss to the Brewster Whitecaps on Tuesday. It is a game that will have seeding implications, as the Gatemen will need to maintain separation from Bourne after losing the season series to them on July 18 in a 9-8 loss.
First pitch for the final regular season game between the Gatemen and the Braves will be at 6:00 p.m. at Doran Park in Bourne.