Berkwich Baffles Schooners as Gulls Win Third Straight
July 27, 2021 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - Nelson Berkwich was dominant in the Newport Gulls' 3-0 defeat of the Mystic Schooners on Monday evening at Cardines Field. The Vanderbilt product dealt six innings of shutout ball, whiffing nine batters and earning the win.
Berkwich's outing continued a stellar three-game stretch that has seen Newport outscore its opponents by 15 runs, led by the pitching staff which has given up just one earned run across 37 frames (0.33 ERA).
Gulls reliever Daniel Colwell was a major contributor to the staff's success on Monday, coming in to erase a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the seventh inning before firing two additional scoreless frames to earn the save.
Chase Achuff was the catalyst for Newport on offense, poking a seeing-eye single in the bottom of the first inning and advancing on a single to right-center off the bat of Matt Wood that was almost snagged by a sliding Barry Walsh. Achuff came around to score on a double steal that forced an overthrow from Mystic catcher Sam Loda.
Mystic starter Sam Favieri found himself in trouble several times throughout the early innings, working around a hit-by-pitch and a walk in the bottom of the third inning before escaping a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the fourth. Newport had a difficult time capitalizing on baserunners the entire game, stranding a total of 16 runners.
Berkwich had no trouble limiting baserunners, allowing just four Schooners to reach through his first five innings. The southpaw pounded the strike zone, amassing 54 strikes across 77 pitches, and his fast pace consistently kept Mystic hitters off balance.
Despite having multiple rallies extinguished, the Gulls offense was persistent heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. After a leadoff single from Cal Parrillo that drove Favieri out of the game, Schooners reliever Reid Easterly seemingly had the game under control, striking out a batter and inducing what appeared to be an inning-ending double-play ball. However, as Mystic shortstop Stanton Luethner fielded the ball and flipped to Sam Kirkpatrick for the easy force at second, the second baseman dropped the ball attempting to make a barehanded turn, resulting in no outs and continuing the inning. Easterly then nailed Joe Fortin with a pitch to load the bases, and Conor Kiely drove in Parrillo with a ground ball fielder's choice to the right side for the second Newport run. Easterly limited the damage from there, stranding runners on first and third with a strikeout.
Berkwich got into some trouble of his own in the sixth inning, as Addison Kopack reached on an error by Spenser Smith at short, and Walsh laced a ball down the right-field line into the corner. However, Kopack appeared confused as to where Walsh's hit landed and stopped briefly at second before racing safely to third. Walsh attempted to reach second after having to hold up
at first due to Kopack's inexplicable halt and was thrown out easily by Sam Cochrane from right field to end the threat and Berkwich's outing.
Bo Brutti was next in line for Newport's staff, beginning the seventh with a quick flyout and groundout before allowing the next three batters to reach base by way of a hit-by-pitch and two free passes. Colwell then entered the ballgame and forced a slow chopper to short on a 3-2 count with runners on the move. Smith charged, scooped, and fired a low throw over to first that was niftily scooped by Parrillo to cap off the frame.
The eighth inning was filled with firepower for Newport, as Colwell whiffed the side in dominant fashion, and Wood cranked a solo bomb in the bottom half of the frame. Wood's blast was his third of the season and made it a 3-0 ballgame.
Although a second error from Smith and a walk from Cowell made things dicey in the bottom of the ninth, the UCLA Bruins southpaw ensured that the Gulls would get the victory, forcing pinch-hitter Michael DeMartino to roll into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Following an off day, Newport (19-17) faces off against the Bristol Blues (11-25) on Wednesday at Cardines Field starting at 6:35 pm.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.
• Discuss this story on the New England Collegiate Baseball League message board...
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 27, 2021
- Berkwich Baffles Schooners as Gulls Win Third Straight - Newport Gulls
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
