Gulls Drop Game 1 of Championship Series
For Immediate Release Contact: Chuck Paiva
August 7, 2024 President & General Manager
401-845-6832// gm@newportgulls.com
NEWPORT, R.I. -- It was the team that could not lose versus the team invincible in postseason play. One side entered the Sanford Mainers, 16-1 in their last seventeen games. On the other were the host Gulls, who had won 10 straight NECBL playoff games over the span of two seasons. On the line: the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.
On a beautiful Wednesday evening at Cardines Field, the Gulls sent out their ace in Pittsburgh sophomore Aidan Coleman, looking to respond from a rough outing in the postseason opener six days prior. Unlike his previous start, Coleman was dialed in from first pitch, recording two Ks in a 1-2-3 1st inning. In the 2nd, Coleman would load the bases on some weak contact, but escape the jam unharmed. In the 3rd, however, Sanford would take advantage of their league-record speed, stealing two bags, which let Colin Barczi’s 1 out single give the Mainers a 1-0 lead. After two more mainer hits, the bases were loaded for Brady Schaaf, who lined a ground ball at Jack Doyle(Northeastern). Doyle fielded it cleanly, flipped it to Randy Seymour(Michigan St.)who fired to first, turning the 4-6-3 double play. Coleman would respond in the 4th with his 2nd 1-2-3 inning, setting down the Mainers in 10 pitches. Unfortunately for him, he would give up two more soft singles, leading him to be pulled through 4 ⅓ for the 2nd consecutive start. In total, Coleman would record three strikeouts, while walking one. He would not be on the mound when his 2nd earned run came in, as that would occur on an Evin Sullivan sacrifice fly against reliever Drew DeLucia(Franklin Pierce). DeLucia would roll through the sixth in order, recording two more strikeouts.
The Gulls’ offense would be powered by Niko Brini(Wofford), who lined 1st pitch singles on his 1st two at bats. Unfortunately for him, he would be stranded by hard hit groundouts both times as the Gulls remained scoreless through four. In the fifth, Jack Doyle(Northeastern) would single before being replaced by Brini on a fielder’s choice. After a walk of Andrew Duncan(Florida State), two were on with one out for Dixon Williams(ECU). He would hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, moving Brini to 3rd. Andrew Duncan would try and get to 2nd on the play, but got caught in a rundown. Brini attempted to score, but reached home plate a second after Duncan was tagged out, stranding yet another runner. After that, Mainers starter Connor Ball would be borderline unhittable, recording five total strikeouts in a scoreless seven inning start.
In the 7th, the Mainers would add another run, after two walks and a bloop single. A line drive single from Devan Bade would make it 4-0. Another single from Blake Schaff would plate two more and all of a sudden, it was 6-0 Mainers. DeLucia would escape the inning, but a leadoff single in the 8th ended his night after 2 ⅔. Mason Ulsh(Quinnipiac) would replace him. He would let in the final batter seen by DeLucia to score, making it 7-0.
In the 8th, the Mainers went to the bullpen with Ryan Douglas coming in to face the top of the Gulls lineup. Dixon Williams would send a 2-out double off the ivy, but would become the 7th Gull stranded as Nolan Stevens went down looking to end the inning. In the 9th, Newport went down to their last out before the offense woke up. A walk from Matt Ossenfort(NC state) was followed by a bloop single from Randy Seymour(Michigan St.). Following that, Jack Doyle(Northeastern) joined Brini in the multihit club with an infield single to score Ossenfort. Unfortunately, that would be the only run scored by the Gulls, as they would fall 7-1.
The Gulls will have a chance to keep their season alive with a game on the road at Goodall Park with 1st pitch scheduled for 6:30 PM and available to watch on ESPN+. Game 3, if necessary, would be at Cardines on Friday at 6:35 PM.
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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation’s top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the community via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are seven-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, stay tuned to Gulls Social Media and Website
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