FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             Contact: Tom Lima

June 5th, 2025                                                          Director of Media and Broadcast Operations

                                                                                   By Gavin Bicho – Broadcaster

                                                                                    (401) 824-6314 - broadcast@newportgulls.com

MYSTIC, CT. -  The Gulls stayed patient, and although they left many runners stranded in the first few innings, they ended up breaking loose against Mystic.

Newport showed signs of pressure to kick off the game vs. Mystic starter Chase Hanawalt following a first-inning double from Randy Seymour (Michigan State) and a walk from Petey Craska (North Alabama) to put runners on first and second with one away. Hanawalt worked out of the mini-jam, and Seyour and Craska became two of nine runners stranded in the first five frames.

Mystic attacked a shaky Nick DiRito (UMass Lowell), who found some success but ultimately succumbed to the meat of the Schooner lineup after a bases-loaded walk to Christian Scanlon and an Anothony Belisario single, which scored two, put the Schooners up three in the first.

The Gulls did not waver down 3-0, as Newport manufactured a 2nd inning run that was capped off with a Shane Williams (Salve Regina) groundout to short. Newport would inch closer in the third inning after Dre Lewis (Manhattan) hit a nice piece into right center, scoring Craska. 

Just as DiRito was getting in a groove following a 1-2-3 second, the Schooners came to hit in the third, getting three knocks off the righty arm, including a two-run homer from Christian Scanlon - the first of the year from the Schooner lineup. Cade O'Leary (Mississippi State) replaced DiRito in the fourth and saw one ball leave the yard facing his second batter, leadoff man Kaiden Dossa, making the score 6-2 in favor of Mystic. 

Although O'Leary's 2025 campaign had a rocky beginning, he buttoned up what would be a great evening on the bump for Newport shutting down the Schooner lineup.

In the 4th and 5th innings, Newport gave Mystic and relief man Andrew Gaines - replacing Hanawalt after 2.1 IP -  all they could handle, getting three hits and drawing two walks, but still came up empty-handed. As O'Leary continued to deal into the sixth, the third pitcher of the day for Mystic, Hunter Hoxie, was one of four relievers to hit a massive roadblock.

In the top of the 6th, Newport finally broke through after Randy Seymour hit a two-run single, scoring Williams and leadoff man Matt Bolton (Binghamton), who utilized speed to get themselves in scoring position. Christian Coppola replaced Hoxie, but multiple wild pitches brought home Seymour to make it a one-run game, 6-5.

If the boat was taking in water in the 6th, the 7th saw the Schooner sails rip apart. Coppola's first five batters faced in the 7th all reached from a pair of walks, two singles, and a hit by pitch. Bolton's base knock at the end of that sequence put Newport up for good. Toby Scheidt relieved the struggling Coppola and had to minimize the damage with bases loaded and nobody out. Scheidt got an initial punch out before a routine ground ball turned into a throwing error from 1B Christian Scanlon, a Ty Stecko (Eastern Michigan) free pass, which scored a run, and a swinging bunt from Dre Lewis gave him his second RBI of the game and put Newport up 11-6.

After a near-immaculate inning from O'Leary in the sixth, the ball went from one SEC pitcher to another in the 7th. Aidan O'Connell (Vanderbilt) was nails as he cruised through his three innings of work, punching out six Schooners matching O'Leary's total and finishing the game in 61 pitches. 

Newport put up two more in the top of the ninth after a pair of hits from Seymour and Craska were scored from a Stecko groundout and a wild pitch. O'Connell approached the 9th calm, cool, and collected - and with a 7-run cushion. He faced four batters, fanning two and forcing the game-winning groundout.

The Gulls completed their comeback to secure their first road win of the season, 13-6, the highest run total for Newport in the early going. Newport's arms combined for 16 strikeouts and are now up to 38 punchouts in 27 innings. 

Newport (2-1) must keep up the effective pitching as they welcome Martha's Vineyard (1-1) to Cardines Field on Friday evening for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch. You can catch the action on ESPN+ as Newport goes for their third-straight win.