Pesky Gulls Soar Higher in Battle with Mainers
June 24, 2024 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - In their first game since Friday night, the Sanford Mainers lost 8-6 in a game in which they brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth against the Newport Gulls on Monday evening at Cardines Field.
Brody Szako (Austin Peay) got the scoring started early for the Gulls. The Gulls' designated hitter launched a solo home run 395 feet to center field off Ryan Minckler (Niagara) with two outs in the bottom of the first.
Sanford got that run back plus a couple of extra with a three-run third inning.
Blake Shaaf (Georgetown) kicked the offense, which had gone down in 1-2-3 fashion in the second, off with a one-out walk off Adam Maher (Dartmouth). After the second out of the inning was recorded by Maher, Devan Bade (Binghamton) singled to put two runners on base.
With two runners in scoring position following a passed ball, C.J. Willis (Quinnipiac) doubled straight down the third-base line to give the Mainers a 2-1 lead. One batter later, Colin Barczi (Vanderbilt) drove in Willis for a third run off Maher, who entered the game with a 1.01 ERA over 17.2 innings.
"They're being aggressive on their pitches," manager Nic Lops said of Willis and Barczi, who combined to reach base eight times in 10 plate appearances against the Gulls. "They're not going out of their zone or helping the pitcher out. They're laying off tough pitches and ambushing the ones that they can do damage with."
The Gulls potent lineup struck right back for those three runs using just one hit in the bottom of the third inning.
Nico Brini (Wofford) reached on an error to start the home portion of the third before Andrew Duncan (Florida State) walked to put two runners on with no outs. With two runners on, Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State), recorded a base knock that drove home Brini to trim Newport's deficit to one.
Szako followed Stevens with a walk to load the bases for Randy Seymour (Michigan State). Seymour, who struck out looking against Minckler his first time to the plate, was hit by a pitch. That hit-by-pitch drove home Duncan to tie the game.
The next batter, Dixon Williams (East Carolina), popped a ball into the outfield that went down as a sacrifice fly as the Gulls retook their one-run advantage.
"They've always just seemed to have a really pesky lineup," Lops said of Newport. "You know you're going to get a heck of an effort from those guys every time you play them."
Beau Brailey (Alabama) set the lineup down in the fourth as he faced the minimum of three batters. However, in the fifth Brailey did not have the same success as the Gulls brought seven hitters to the plate.
Duncan kicked things off with a double before coming around to score on a passed ball two plate appearances later. During that plate appearance, Szako reached for a third time in the game, and he would not be on first base for long.
Seymour and Williams recorded back-to-back first-pitch singles to advance Duncan to third base. Luke Orbon (St. John's) finished the job with a sacrifice fly as Newport took a 6-3 lead.
However, the Mainers did not go down easily against the 2023 NECBL Champions.
In the seventh, Barczi brought Willis home to score as they both doubled off Cole Cheatham (Mississippi State). Those doubles were two of the five that the three and four-hole hitters for Sanford combined for in the contest.
Lops' lineup struck for more in the eighth as Devan Kodali (Vanderbilt), who entered as a pinch hitter, was hit by a pitch.
Matt Miceli (Stony Brook) then hit an opposite-field single that put two runners on for Matt Travisano (UMass), who also entered off the bench for Sanford. Travisano singled to right field to bring Kodali around to score.
"To battle against those guys and then even scratch a run across against their flamethrowing was good to see for our offense," Lops said of his team not giving in down the stretch of the game. "We're not going to quit just because we go down a few runs."
Sanford put another run across in the ninth as Barczi started a one-out rally with a walk. Barczi completed his trip around the bases with a single by Ray Velazquez (Vanderbilt) and a fielder's choice by Jorge Burgos (Southern New Hampshire).
As Sanford put those three runs across the board over the final three innings, Newport struck for another two on a home run by Williams and an RBI double by Tyler Hare (Wofford).
Sanford looks to rebound tomorrow as it returns to Goodall Park to the North Division leader, the Vermont Mountaineers.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 24, 2024
- Pesky Gulls Soar Higher in Battle with Mainers - Sanford Mainers
- Mountaineers Blank North Shore for Sixth Straight Win - Vermont Mountaineers
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