Gulls Overtake Schooners 9-6, Take Division Lead
June 22, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - With first place in the NECBL South on the line, the Newport Gulls (10-2) and Mystic Schooners (10-4) met Monday night in front of 2,377 at Cardines Field in a battle of the league's hottest teams. But it was the Gulls who came out the 9-5 victors, taking a 2-1 lead in the six-game season series and taking sole possession of first place in the division for the first time in 2015.
Right-handed sophomore starter Colton Hock (Stanford) was solid early for the Gulls, tossing a 1-2-3 first inning before his offense gave him a cushion to work with in the bottom of the inning.
In the home half of the first, Joven Afenir earned a leadoff, four-pitch walk from Mystic starter Michael Concato (Dartmouth). The junior righty got into trouble early, likewise walking the next two batters, Reed Gamache and Drew Lugbauer, before cleanup hitter Max Beermann drove in all three with a bases-clearing double to the gap in left-center. Despite a Jeremy Wolf bloop double later in the inning, the Gulls would strand Beermann and Wolf in scoring position, but head to the second inning with a 3-0 lead.
The Schooners would get on the scoreboard in the third, after a leadoff walk issued to C.J. Moore spelled the beginning of trouble for Hock. After Moore advanced to second on a wild pitch, he quickly came around to score on an Aaron Hill RBI single. The Schooners tacked on one more the following batter, when Ben Ruta hit a wall-ball double to right-center to drive home Hill from first, but the Gulls retained a 3-2 edge.
Mystic's potent offense could not easily be kept at bay. A leadoff single by Dan Hoy in the top of the fourth was followed up by hits from Casey Baker and Moore, the latter of which allowed Hoy to score to tie the game at 3-3 and force Manager Mike Coombs to go to the bullpen early. Lefty Quinn Brodey came on in relief of Hock, but a wild pitch that skipped off the plate to the backstop put two runners in scoring position. With the go-ahead runner at third, Nick Mascelli hit a deep pop-up to center, allowing Baker to score on a sacrifice fly and give the Schooners their first lead of the evening, 4-3.
A Baker lead-off single in the 6th led to another Schooner run, thanks in part to two wild pitches later in the inning, the second of which allowed Baker to take home on a close tag play that resulted in an argument from Coombs. But the 5-3 Mystic lead was not meant to last.
Cardines Field roared back to life in the bottom of the sixth when Newport exploded for five runs on six hits, including a Beermann double to begin the inning. Ten Gulls came to the plate against the Schooner bullpen, tacking on three more doubles from Cooper Elliott, Wolf and Lugbauer, singles from Sean Bouchard and Gamache, a Jon Littell walk, and an Afenir sacrifice fly.
A Bouchard error at shortstop with two outs in the top of the eighth allowed Mystic to plate an unearned run to make the gap 9-6, but that's as close as they would get, as the three-hour-plus marathon came to an end with the Gulls standing alone atop the NECBL South when Brendan Spagnuolo picked up his league-leading fourth save of 2015 pitching around a walk in the 9th.
On Tuesday, the Gulls head back on the road for their second contest of the season vs. the Plymouth Pilgrims. First pitch at Forges Field is set for 6:30. The Gulls return home Wednesday night to host the North Adams SteepleCats in interdivision play, and are back on the road Thursday at Laconia before hosting the Danbury Westerners on Friday night at Cardines Field for Reunion Night, where all fans will receive free admission, as the Gulls celebrate 15 years in Newport and welcome back dozens of alumni.
On Saturday, the Gulls will host a gala event at the Newport Marriott at 6 p.m. - the 15th Anniversary Family Reunion and Hot Stove Dinner and Auction. Tickets are still available at newportgulls.com, and will continue to be sold at the door the night of the event.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 22, 2015
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