FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             Contact: Tom Lima

June 15th, 2025                                                          Director of Media and Broadcast Operations

                                                                                   By Gavin Bicho – Broadcaster

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

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. - On Sunday, the Waves soared above the Gulls in round two of the Pell Bridge Series. Newport’s bats struggled early but came around in the middle innings to give Ocean State all they could handle. Unfortunately, free passes and timely hitting boosted the Waves at Old Mountain Field.

Ocean State was itching to win at home vs. Newport, a feat that the Waves could not do last season, and they started hot with their starter, Cole Richardson. The righty bounced back from a first-pitch hit batter in the form of Matt Bolton (Binghamton), who was hit in the helmet. Bolton remained in the game, but Richardson fanned the next two Gulls and forced a groundout from Seth Dardar (Kansas State), who made his Gulls debut Sunday.

Max Debiec (Michigan) walked the first two Waves to kick off his first start on the bump for Newport but settled back in, finding command with all three pitches. Although he allowed a run from some aggressive baserunning, fans were in store for a beauty.

Newport only got a lone baserunner in the 2nd and 3rd innings as the breaking ball from Richardson proved to be a big problem for the Newport offense. On the other hand, Debiec was nails through his next few innings, facing the minimum through the last three innings of work, punching out seven Ocean State players.

Once Richardson was removed going into the fourth, Newport started making great contact vs. reliever Caleb Hughes. Cade Brown (Georgia) walked, stole second base, and advanced to third on a throwing error from catcher Brandyn Durand. Two batters later, Colby Wallace (East Carolina) hit a deep fly into left that was caught by Kolton Reynoolds, but was deep enough to score Brown and tie the ballgame at one.

Logan Olson (Penn State) relieved Debiec in the fifth, but after two quick outs, it took six batters to get his third. Two walks, followed by a pair of hits from Brandon DeGoti and Gavin Gregor, helped Ocean State retake the lead, 4-1. Olson was able to strike out Kayle Pisano to escape the inning, but it looked like another road game where Newport would go down for good.

The fourth Waves pitcher, Nolan Peel, would reassure Gulls fans that the offense has potential. In a blink of an eye, two runners were on after hits from Bolton and Randy Seymour (Michigan State). Next up was Cade Brown who hit a high drive into right field that made its way over the temporary mesh fence for a game-tying three-run homer. Later in the 5th, Wallace and Will Fosberg (Northeastern) got hits, and Kyle Branch (Oklahoma) kept it simple by getting an RBI groundout that allowed the Gulls to storm back in a flash and take a 5-4 lead.

Olson’s struggles continued in the 6th, walking the first two batters, and Blake Julius (Oklahoma State) was called on to clean up the mess. Julius had runners on second and third when he loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk to Connor Grotoyohann. As Grotyohann made his way to first, a discussion ensued between Ocean State’s third base coach and the umpires. Even though a pitch was thrown, the umpires decided to issue a balk from before the previous pitch that moved the runners up a base, and plated one. Mike Coombs showed his frustration to the home plate umpire, but that call returned Grotyohann to the dish to face another 3-0 count when he hit a sac-fly into left to retake the lead for the Waves, 6-5. Julius got two quick outs to finish the inning, but frustration continued to boil in the Newport dugout as the lead slipped away.

In the next two innings, Newport would collect two hits, draw three walks, and put multiple runners in scoring position with less than two outs, including a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the 8th. The Gulls would score in either frame, and the offense halted vs. rocky Waves relievers. 

Julius worked quickly in the 8th. Following a leadoff walk, he retired the next two batters, but that third out escaped the righty hurler. Three straight singles added to the Ocean State lead, and Julius’s day ended. Aidan O’Connell (Vanderbilt) came in with two away and two on. Two walks and a wild pitch saw an extra run plated for Ocean State, and by the end of the inning, Newport was chasing four going into the ninth, down 9-5.

Seymour was up 3-0 on the 7th Waves pitcher, Ryan McHugh. McHugh battled back and threw three straight strikes to strike out the shortstop. Brown singled, but a Dardar popout and Wallace lineout ended the game in South Kingstown.

Newport finished with nine hits, three more than Ocean State, but stranded nine runners, six of which were in scoring position. Ocean State comes away with their first home win vs. Newport in two years, and the Gulls fall to 5-5, with every loss coming away from Newporr.

The Gulls welcome in first place Bristol to Cardines Field on Monday night and hope to put together a better showing than their previous two games. The first pitch is at 6:35 p.m. and streaming on ESPN+.