DANBURY, CT. Newport's bats have gone cold through seven road games; however, big blasts in Connecticut allowed Newport to steal a win in Danbury.

The Gulls entered Saturday's game aggressively. After a Matt Bolton (Binghamton) pop-out, Michael Gupton (Samford) sent a fastball 102 mph off the bat into center field. Nevertheless, the ball stayed in the yard and was caught by Peter Link. The Gulls continued to put the ball in play for the next few innings without seeing a baserunner reach.

Brennan Phillips (Oklahoma State) got the nod for his first start for Newport this summer and faced the minimum in the first, punching out Link to get through the side. A few pop-outs and a flyout saw Hayden Tarsia make quick work of the Gulls lineup in the second. 

Danbury threatened after a two-out double from Will Cook in the home half, and a wild pitch moved him to third. Gavin Donohue chopped a ball in front of home plate, and Dre Lewis (Manhattan) made a great play, moving to his left and throwing right to Petey Craska (North Alabama) to get out of the jam. More fantastic plays in the field followed as a big help to Newport's efforts.

The third inning saw both teams go down 1-2-3 to push a scoreless game to the fourth, but it would not stay that way for long. Leadoff man Matt Bolton hit an oppo-blast to start the fourth, and the shorter dimensions at Rogers Park became a significant factor for the game's remainder. Newport did not stop; Gupton reached on an error and got 90 feet away from home following a Randy Seymour (Michigan State) double. Dre Lewis's two-out ground ball ended the inning and saw the Gulls only up 1-0.

Phillips did not let a two-out single rattle him, and he got out of the fourth with the lead after a pop-out to left fielder Shane Williams (Salve Regina). Williams, getting his first start since June 5th, would walk in the 5th and stole his way to second and, with two outs, tried to score on a Bolton single into right field, but Garrett Larsen made a phenomenal throw to cut down Williams and keep the Westerners deficit at one.

Back out for a fifth inning of work, Phillips faced trouble with two runners on with one away after a single and a walk from the bottom part of the Danbury order. Fortunately, Phillips forced a pair of ground balls that got Newport out of the jam unscathed and in the lead.

The Gulls tried to add to their lead after kicking off the sixth with two singles from Gupton and Colby Wallace (East Carolina). Craska and Seymour would pop out, and Lewis would go down swinging vs. relief man Ben Waterman to leave two Gulls stranded.

Nick DiRito (Appalachian State) had the ball in his hand to start the sixth, and Danbury took advantage. The second pitch of DiRito's outing left the ballpark, off the bat of Peter Link, which tied up the game at one. The next batter, Jack Lutte, copied Link and went yard to take the lead over Newport. DiRito was able to force weak contact and retire the next three hitters following back-to-back homers for Danbury. 

Newport was not down for long, though, as A.J. Evasco (Kansas State) led off the 7th with a deep fly of his own, the first of the season for Evasco, to tie up the contest. The Gulls kept their foot on the gas, putting runners at the corners after Williams was hit by Grady Golier and Matt Bolton singled again. Bolton tried moving the second but was thrown out, and Gupton flew out to end the threat, and Newport continued to leave runners on third stranded.

The bottom of the seventh saw Mike Coombs leave the dugout and have his first intense conversation of the season. Casen Murphy (Louisville) relieved DiRito, and after a one-out hit batter in the form of Mike Stellrecht, Murphy caught Stellrecht in a pickle after the lefty made a tremendous pickoff move to first. Stellrecht bounced back and forth and avoided a tag, returning to first after moving far to his left, seemingly escaping his designated base path. 

In his fourteenth season, Mike Coombs gave the fans a show that proved he was as good as he once was. Coombs immediately left the Newport dugout and was livid with a call that left many fans scratching their heads. Dirt was kicked, lines were drawn, and everyone at the park witnessed Mike Coombs in peak form. Cooler heads prevailed, and the skipper returned into the dugout and, most importantly, remained in the game. Three batters later, the inning would finish after Murphy got Link looking.

Newport went down 1-2-3 in the 8th, and Marcel Kulik (Virginia Tech) worked his way out of a jam after the Westerners had runners on second and third with one out and came up empty-handed.

Andrew Koshy entered the game for Danbury and had little time to get settled. That's because Dre Lewis jumped on the first pitch he saw and sent the baseball 403 feet well over the right-centerfield wall, and Newport was back out in front 3-2. A couple walks by Williams and Josh Castellani (Clemson) - who pinch-hit for Adrian Areizaga (MiamiFL) in the ninth - gave Newport an opportunity for insurance. The Gulls spoiled another opportunity after Bolton and Gupton could not knock runners in, and Kulik had no cushion outside the lone one-run.

After a quick out, Garrett Larsen reached on a single to right field and immediately stole second and third base, which brought the Gulls' defense in. Former Gull, Kyle Garbowski, took advantage of the defense and hit a bloop single over Wallace's head at third to tie the game up, 3-3, in the ninth. Kulik forced a double-play immediately after, thanks to Seymour and newly inserted Kyle Branch (Oklahoma), to send the game into extras.

Newport started with Michael Gupton on second and took advantage of a Koshy wild pitch to get to third. Wallace hit a single to score Gupton to give Newport a 4-3 advantage. After Matt Ossenfort (North Carolina State) struck out in his first at-bat of the season, he gave way to Seymour. Randy saw one pitch and sent it deep into the Danbury night sky. His two-run home run gave Newport their largest lead of the night, 6-3. Koshy would finally get out of the inning after getting Williams to strike out, but Newport was in the driver's seat.

Kulik, trying to make up for the blown save, needed to step up for the Gulls to close the ball game out. Kulik trusted his defense, even with a runner on second. After striking out Jack Lutte, a line drive to the right side was plucked out of the air by Kyle Branch, who made a phenomenal leaping grab. A shallow fly to Williams in left ended the ballgame, and Newport received their second road win of the week and won their fourth game in the last five contests.

The Gulls inch closer to the top of the southern division at 9-6 and get the day off on Sunday, June 22nd, before heading to Sanford on Monday, June 23rd, to take on the Mainers at 6:30 p.m. at Goodall Park.