Waves Drop Fog-Riddled Contest to Gulls, 7-6
June 12, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Ocean State Waves News Release
NEWPORT, RI - Coming off a 3-1 win against the Vermont Mountaineers on Wednesday, the Ocean State Waves sought a victory in their first matchup against the Newport Gulls in Game 1 of the 2015 Pell Bridge Series. Paced by timely hitting and the fog that overshadowed the action in Newport, the Gulls edged out the Waves, 7-6, in front of 2,473 fans at Cardines Field.
Before the fog started to roll in over the diamond, the Waves jumped on the scoreboard in the top of the second. Facing former Wave Hunter Schryver (Villanova), Buck McCarthy (Bryant) got the action started with a one-out single. McCarthy eventually came around to score on an RBI double by Alex King (Saint Louis) to give the Waves an early 1-0 lead.
However, the early lead for the Waves would be short-lived when the Gulls came up in the bottom of the second. Wave starter Mason Perryman (USC) started the inning by hitting Drew Lugbauer (Michigan) with a high fastball, which was followed by a single by Jeremy Wolf (Trinity TX). In the next at-bat, Jon Littell (Oklahoma State) lofted a fly ball to center field. Dylan Burdeaux (Southern Mississippi) made a great diving catch to prevent the run from scoring, only enabling Lugbauer to take third. The Gulls would score the run on an RBI groundout by Martin Taveras (Rhode Island), tying the score at one apiece after two innings.
Perryman pitched effectively in his first start with the Waves despite the speed bump in the second inning. The righty hurled four innings against the Gulls, allowing just one run on four hits with a strikeout to his credit. Although he got himself into jams in the third and fourth inning, Perryman dictated the tempo, getting key outs to keep the Gulls at bay.
The Waves would jump back on top with a run in the fourth inning. Tim Lynch (Southern Mississippi) led off the frame with a double down the left field line. He would advance to third on a wall-ball double by Burdeaux that got lost in a mixture of the fog and the warehouse over by right field. McCarthy would ultimately bring the run around on a sacrifice fly, giving the Waves a 2-1 lead.
After facing their former pitcher for five innings, the Waves offense focused its attention to new pitcher Brad Wegman (USC) in the top of the sixth. Wegman got two quick outs before allowing a single to McCarthy. In the next at-bat, Wegman had two strikes against Waves catcher Chuckie Robinson (Southern Mississippi). Robinson blasted the next pitch onto the playground past the left field fence for a two-run home run (his first of the summer), propelling the Waves to a 4-1 lead in the sixth.
It was after Robinson's colossal home run, however, that the Gulls offense began to get hot versus Waves pitching. Following a shutout fifth inning, Richard Lovelady (Kennesaw State) loaded the bases courtesy of a Max Beermann (Villanova) single, a ground ball by Lugbauer that Lovelady bobbled on the mound for an error, and a walk to Wolf. With the bases loaded and no outs, Waves manager Eric Cirella brought in a new pitcher in Matt Murphy (Assumption) to escape the jam. Murphy induced a double play off the bat of Littell (driving home a run), but a wild pitch with Taveras hitting allowed the Gulls to cut into the Waves lead, 4-3.
Following a 1-2-3 inning by Wegman in the top half of the seventh, the Gulls offense continued its ravenous offensive tear in the bottom half of the frame. With Murphy back out for another inning of work, the Gulls offense heated up after a one-out walk to Joven Afenir (Kansas). Afenir advanced on to third on a throwing error by King following an infield single by former Wave Reed Gamache (Binghamton). The Gulls tied the score on an RBI single by Cooper Elliott (Washington State), then ultimately took the lead on a sacrifice fly by Beermann.
After the Waves lost the lead, Cirella went to the bullpen once again, bringing in Geoff Murphy (Boston College) to stop the jam. Murphy allowed a two-run double by Wolf to begin his outing, adding more insurance runs for the Gulls. Murphy did induce a pop out to end the inning, but the Waves now trailed the Gulls, 7-4.
Wegman stayed out for the eighth inning, avenging a leadoff double by Lynch by retiring the next three hitters. In the bottom of the eighth, Murphy worked around a two-out single by Afenir by striking out Gamache to end the threat.
In the top of the ninth, as the fog continued to thicken over Cardines Field, the Gulls turned to reliever Carson LaRue (Oklahoma State) to close out the game. The Waves jumped on the young hurler with two singles by King and Dom Veltri (Belmont) to lead off the inning. Nick Dawson (Southern Mississippi) walked to load the bases, setting things up for Jake Palomaki (Boston College). Palomaki reached on an infield single to shortstop Kevin Baker (Roger Williams), enabling King to score and cut the deficit to 7-5.
With the bases loaded with nobody out, Gulls manager Mike Coombs turned to the bullpen by bringing in closer Brendan Spagnuolo (Vanderbilt). Spagnuolo induced a ground ball out to Griffin Helms (Kennesaw State), allowing Veltri to score. However, Lynch hit a line drive straight at Taveras at third; Taveras quickly proceeded on the third base bag to end the game and give the Gulls a 7-6 victory.
Despite the loss, the Waves had many highlights in their first matchup with their in-state rivals this summer. The Waves had a season-high 12 hits against the league's best pitching staff, and only stranded six men on base. Lynch, McCarthy, and King each had two hits, while Palomaki reached base for the fifth straight game.
The Waves return to Old Mountain Field after a four-game road trip to host the Sanford Mainers on Saturday. Tony Dibrell (Kennesaw State; 0-1, 12.00 ERA) will make his second start of the summer for the Waves, while the Mainers counter with Ben Wessel (Rhode Island; 0-1, 4.50 ERA). Tune in online as Tim Scott and Cory Nidoh bring you the action live on the NECBL Broadcast Network. First pitch is set for 6:05 at Old Mountain Field.
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from June 12, 2015
- Waves Drop Fog-Riddled Contest to Gulls, 7-6 - Ocean State Waves
- Mountaineers Bested by Mystic 5-1 - Vermont Mountaineers
- Swamp Bats and Muskrats Game Postponed After 13 Inning Thriller - Keene Swamp Bats
- Bay Sox Suspended in Bottom of the Sixth - New Bedford Bay Sox
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