Newport Gulls Shutout New Bedford in Regular Season Finale,
Published on August 2, 2012 under New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - Six pitchers combined to throw a three-hit shutout as the Newport Gulls defeated the New Bedford Bay Sox, 3-0, in the regular season finale for both teams at Cardines Field on Wednesday, August 1st.
Newport finishes the regular season with the best record in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, 31-10 overall, and will enjoy home-field advantage throughout the NECBL playoffs. The Gulls finish the regular season one win shy of the all-time mark set by the franchise back in 2006.
Newport will open up the NECBL Eastern Division Semi-finals against the fourth-seeded Sanford Mainers (15-26 overall this season) at home on Friday, August 3. The Gulls won seven of eight meetings with the Mainers during the regular season. Newport will send Arkansas State right-hander Daniel Wright (6-0, 3.94 ERA), the starting pitcher for the 2012 Eastern Division All-Star Team, to the mound to start Game One versus Sanford.
New Bedford wraps up the regular season with a 25-17 overall record and finish second in the Eastern Division, six and a half games behind the Gulls. New Bedford will be the number two seed in the Eastern Division and will open up a series against the third seeded Laconia Muskrats (17-24 overall) at Paul Walsh Field on Friday, August 3.
Peter Kelich started for the Gulls, but went just an inning and one third before being lifted to give the bullpen extended action in the final regular season game of the year. Left-hander Ryan Pennell did not allow a base runner while striking out two over his two and one third innings of work.
Frank Holbrook (3-0) picked up the win in relief for the Gulls. Holbrook entered the game with a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning and blanked the Bay Sox over the next two innings, allowing just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
Relievers Tanner Chleborad, Brett Graves and Caleb Kellogg, combined to shut out the Bay Sox over the final three innings. Kellogg worked a clean ninth inning to pick up his third save of the season.
Newport managed just six hits, but made them count with a pair of home runs in the win over New Bedford. First baseman Steve Anderson blasted a solo shot, his third of the summer, in the fourth inning to break the stalemate. Anderson finished the night 2-for-3 with one RBI, a walk and a pair of runs scored.
Catcher Matt Pare, who has seen extended playing time in the last week due to an injury to fellow backstop Jeff Melillo, drilled a two-run homer to deep right field in the sixth inning to close out the scoring for Newport. Pare went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, a run scored and a walk in the win.
"I really just had a good approach at the plate today," said Pare. "You just have to keep grinding out there, it's been a great season so far for us, but we aren't done yet."
New Bedford starter Frank Vilacha was solid for six innings, allowing just three runs, all earned on four hits with five walks and six strikeouts. Vilacha, who worked out of a number of jams early on, surrendered the home runs to Anderson and Pare, which were ultimately the difference in the game as the Bay Sox offense failed to mount a comeback.
The Gulls will be back in action taking on the Sanford Mainers in Game One of the NECBL Eastern Division Semi-finals at Cardines Field on Friday, August 3.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 2, 2012
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- Newport Gulls Shutout New Bedford in Regular Season Finale, - Newport Gulls
- Playoffs Starting Friday Night - Danbury Westerners
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