FORT MYERS, Fla.- When the 138^th season of Cape Cod League Baseball kicks off this weekend in the Northeast, there will be a Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneer suiting up in the Nation's most prestigious league for the first time. But it won't just be one Buccaneer sharing the stage and competing against the best amateur players from around the country, there will be five, all suiting up for the team the 2001 film Summer Catch made famous, the Chatham A's. 

Magnus Ellerts, Brian Holiday, Nicholas Regalado, Paul Winland, and Ben Peterson will join forces on the A's with players from top Division I programs like Tennessee, Texas, Notre Dame, TCU, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M.  Chatham has featured over 170 major league players in their program history and has five Cape Cod League Championships to their name.  The A's have 31 players on active Major League Baseball rosters this season, the likes of Kris Bryant, Evan Longoria, Rich Hill, and Andrew Miller on that list.  All told the Cape Cod League has well over 300 active players in MLB in 2022 and the top draft pick in each of the four MLB Drafts has Cape ties. 

The A's are getting some of the Bucs best in Massachusetts this summer.  Ellerts was the Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year with a perfect 10-0 record and a 2.48 ERA in 2022.  He struck out 101 hitters in just 69 innings of work and held opposing hitters to just a .193 batting average against.  Holiday was equally as dominant for FSW this season, going 7-1 with five saves and a 1.20 ERA in 52 2/3 innings out of the Buccaneers bullpen.  He posted a 5-1 strikeout to walk ratio with 74 punchouts on the year and opponents hit a measly .178 against him in 2022.  Regalado was another weapon out of the FSW bullpen, throwing in 15 games and going 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA.  With a fastball that reached into upper 90s, he struck out 48 in 37 innings pitched and held opponents to a .227 average against him.  Peterson is the fourth member of the Bucs staff to suit up for Chatham.  He was 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 26 2/3 innings pitched, striking out 22 between five starts and five relief appearances this season.  The lone FSW bat to don the A's blue and red will be Winland who was a 2^nd Team All-Conference pick after coming on late in the season for the Suncoast Conference Champs.  He finished the season hitting .268 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs and also swiped nine bases on the year. 

Head Coach Ben Bizier was excited about the opportunity his players were getting by playing in the Cape saying "This was really a team effort with a lot of people involved in making it happen.  Our guys all earned their way to the top collegiate summer baseball league in the country and it also shows the level and the stage that our program has put itself on in the last couple of years.  We are excited to watch them compete for Chatham and look forward to keeping our relationship with them strong into the future."

Opening night for the Bucs quintet and the rest of the A's will be Sunday night when they host Cotuit under the lights at the historic Veterans Field, which has been Chatham's home each season since 1923.