Newport Gulls Clinch NECBL East Title
Published on July 28, 2011 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - For the eighth time in the 11-year history of the Newport Gulls, the squad from the City by the Sea has clinched a division title. The Gulls blew out the Mystic Schooners, 11-2, Thursday night before over 2,100 fans at Cardines Field to cement the NECBL Eastern Division championship.
Newport jumped at the chance to clinch the division title by scoring all 11 of its runs in the first three innings off Mystic starter Colin O'Keefe (0-4) after the Schooners scored two unearned runs in the top of the first. In the bottom half, Kyle Johnson (Washington State; Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) and Rand Ravnaas (Georgetown; Fort Worth, Texas) hit consecutive singles to lead off the inning before Matt Foat (Southern California; Rescue, Calif.) singled home Johnson to make it 2-1.
Later in the inning, Eric Johnson (UC Davis; Los Altos, Calif.) plated Ravnaas with an RBI fielder's choice to tie the game at 2-2. The next batter, Tom Richards (Washington State; Bend, Ore.) stroked a two-run double to right-center to drive in both Foat and Johnson and make it a 4-2 Newport lead.
In the second, the Gulls scored six times. Jeff Melillo (Rutgers; Annandale, N.J.) led off with a walk and later scored on a passed ball to give Newport a 5-2 edge. Johnson, Ravnaas, and Foat all reached to load the bases before Conrad Gregor (Vanderbilt; Carmel, Ind.) unloaded a towering grand slam to right field, handing the Gulls a commanding, 9-2 lead. Riley Reynolds (Vanderbilt; Lee's Summit, Mo.) later singled and scored on a bases-loaded walk by Kyle Johnson to make it 10-2.
The Gulls added one more run in the third when Foat scored on a sacrifice fly by Richards after Foat led off the inning with a single. The sac fly made it 11-2, giving Newport starter Brandon Sinnery (Michigan; Franklin, Mass.) plenty of room with which to work.
Sinnery (3-1) lasted seven innings and allowed just the two first-inning runs, both of which were unearned. He allowed seven hits and one walk while striking out four, lowering his season ERA to an incredible 1.00. David Hoey (Rhode Island College; Lincoln, R.I.) made his first appearance of the season for the Gulls and didn't allow a run in two innings of work. He allowed two runs and a walk while striking out three.
The victory gave Newport its 25th win of the season, a feat achieved every season of the organization's existence. It also secured the NECBL Eastern Division for the Gulls, who sit at 25-13, five games ahead of second-place North Shore with just four games to play. Newport hosts three of its final four regular-season games, including a matchup with Old Orchard Beach on Friday at Cardines Field at 6:35 p.m. For more information, visit the Gulls' website at newportgulls.com.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 28, 2011
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