Homestanding Gulls Shut Out Swampbats 8-0
June 11, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - After dropping back-to-back games on the road, the Newport Gulls hoped to right the ship in their second home tilt of the young season. The Gulls (3-2) did just that, topping the Keene Swamp Bats 8-0 at Cardines Field Wednesday.
The Swamp Bats (0-5) were able to get on base for the most part, but were incapable of stringing together enough baserunners to score in the game. The Gulls, on the other hand, improved tremendously in key situations from their previous two games and jumped ahead early and never looked back.
Manager Mike Coombs said that the off-day helped his players regroup after playing five games in five days to start the year.
"The game of baseball is crazy, man," Coombs said. "You just never know what you're going to get. The day off was good for the kids."
Newport plated two runs in the fourth inning thanks to some breakdowns by Keene in the field. The Gulls had runners on the corners with two outs when pitcher Michael Geannelis induced a ground ball back to him by Max Beermann, but threw wildly to first base, allowing a run to score. The next batter, Drew Lugbauer, popped the ball up on the infield grass, but Keene could not get a glove on the ball; the miscues pushed Newport's lead to 5-0.
In order to keep the lead, the Gulls relied on great pitching performances from James Karinchak, Brendan Spagnuolo, and Brad Wilpon to hold Keene to seven hits over the course of the game and keeping the Swamp Bats out of scoring chances.
Coombs said that his staff, who have been the best in the NECBL this year with three shutouts, are still improving and hitting their stride.
"Karinchak kept the ball down, which last time he was out he had the ball up a little bit, so this time he had it down," Coombs said. "Spagnuolo came in, threw the ball pretty well and kept them off balance and struck a few guys out; and then Brad came in and closed it up and did a good job."
The Gulls put the game away in the fifth inning, scoring three more runs to balloon their lead to 8-0. From that point on, the game was in cruise control, as neither team scored in the final four innings of the game.
One thing that Coombs said may have been the most important thing for his team was playing at home at Cardines Field, where the Gulls always excel.
"Playing at home is definitely an advantage," Coombs said, remarking that he believed the Gulls drew energy from both historic Cardines Field and the record crowds who often fill the park.
All-time, the Gulls are now 213-77 during the regular season at home since 2001.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 11, 2015
- Swamp Bats Drop Bay Sox 1-0 for First Win of the Season - Keene Swamp Bats
- Bay Sox Lose 1-0 - New Bedford Bay Sox
- Ocean State Waves beat Mountaineers - Ocean State Waves
- Homestanding Gulls Shut Out Swampbats 8-0 - Newport Gulls
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