Rudis Rallies Moose Past Gulls
July 27, 2019 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
SANFORD - Matt Rudis (Madisonville, Texas/Texas Christian) put together his finest performance of the summer on a picturesque Saturday night at Goodall Park as his Mainers took down the Newport Gulls 5-1.
Rudis got his run support early, starting in the very first inning. Sterling Hayes (San Diego, Calif./Vanderbilt) led off with a single and promptly moved up to third via a Drew DeMartino (Pittsfield, Mass./Hartford) double. Shane Marshall (Webster, N.Y./Binghamton) grounded out to plate Hayes and get the Mainers on the board.
The Moose offense hit their stride in their second time through the order as they started teeing off against Gulls starting pitcher Brian Gursky in the third inning. The combination of Hayes and DeMartino struck once again, a walk and a single placed them on the first and third base for Marshall. The three-hole hitter did not waste any time in his second at-bat, swinging at the first pitch and lacing a fastball off the center-field wall for a two-run triple, his first of the year. Nick Howie (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) scored him moments later with a soft line-drive single, extending the early lead to four.
Despite already building a comfortable lead, the Moose were not done at the plate. Elliott Curtis (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada/Kentucky) drilled a single back up the middle to kick off the fourth inning and immediately swiped second base. Hayes advanced him to third before DeMartino brought him in on a sacrifice fly, furthering their advantage to five.
Throughout the offensive onslaught, Rudis continued to deal, stymieing the Gulls lineup at every turn. While his teammates got it done with the bat in their hands, he shut Newport out over his seven innings of work, scattering four hits and four walks amongst the order, striking out five batters as well.
Following Rudis's departure, Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, NJ/UMass Lowell) and Nolan Wilson (Atlanta, Ga./Virginia Tech) combined to pitch the final two innings and finish off the win. Although Newport finally registered a run in the eighth by notching back-to-back knocks with two outs, the deficit proved too tough to overcome. Both back-end bullpen arms fanned two Gulls to secure the 15th Mainer win in 2019.
After tomorrow's All-Star Game, the Moose are back in action on Monday to host the Upper Valley Nighthawks. Coverage begins at 6:30 PM from Goodall Park on the Patriot Subaru Sanford Mainers Radio Network powered by the NECBL Broadcast Network. Until then, keep in touch with everything Mainers by visiting sanfordmainers.com and following the team on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 27, 2019
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