Mainers, Gulls Battle for the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup Championship
August 10, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) News Release
Newport, RI - After falling to the Sanford Mainers in game one at Cardines Field, the Newport Gulls were determined to bring things back to Cardines to force a game three. As the rain began to fall at Goodall Park, the Gulls tallied seven runs to build a big lead heading into the delay.
The game was scoreless through the first two innings until the Gulls struck first in the top of the third. Tyler Minnick (Middle Tennessee State) smoked a two-run double to score Niko Brini (Wofford) and Andrew Duncan (Florida State), giving Newport an early 2-0 lead..
Fast forward to the top of the fifth, the Gulls added on with a five-spot. Duncan and Minnick scored on an error by the shortstop, then Greg Bozzo (Northeastern) drove in two more with a double and advanced to third on the throw. Lastly, Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) finished off the scoring with an RBI single driving in Bozzo to make it 7-0 Gulls in the fifth.
Meanwhile on the mound, Gulls' starting pitcher Cole Cheatham (Alabama at Birmingham) was stifling the Mainers' offense, allowing just three hits through 4.1 innings and striking out five. Unfortunately for Cheatham, the rain came down in the bottom of the fifth, ending his night with a rain delay that ultimately ended in a suspension.
After a day off on Friday, the Gulls and Mainers resumed game two back at Cardines Field in Newport in the bottom of the fifth. Right away, the Mainers began to chip away at that seven-run deficit, as aggressive baserunning by Evin Williams (Binghamton) and Caleb Shpur (UConn) cut the lead to 7-2. In the bottom of the seventh, the Mainers added another as Shpur came home on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.
However, after the Mainers scored their third run, the Gulls' bullpen locked in and shut down the Mainers the rest of the way. Nicholas DiRito (UMass Lowell) pitched the remainder of game two, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing just one run and collecting 9 strikeouts. The Gulls went on to win, 7-3.
With game two's result, the Gulls even up the series, forcing a winner-take-all game three coming up at 6:30 PM at Cardines Field. You can catch all of the action on ESPN+.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 10, 2024
- Mainers' Season Ends in Heartbreak - Sanford Mainers
- Mainers, Gulls Battle for the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup Championship - NECBL
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