The Newport Gulls fell 2-1 to the Valley Blue Sox on Tuesday, July 15 from Mackenzie Field in
Holyoke, Massachusetts Valley snapped a three game skid and improved to 14-16, while
Newport has dropped three in a row and six of eight.
The pitching duel started with both teams putting on a solid offensive display, after Matthew
Boton (Binghamton) started the game with a strikeout, Michael Gupton (Memphis) reached on
an opposite field single and Colby Wallace advanced on a hit by pitch. Adam Agresti (St.
John’s) popped a single to give Newport the first lead of the evening. Petey Craska (North
Alabama) lined out to short to end the threat, and Newport was held off the board the rest of the
way.
Valley wasted no time tying the game, all star starter Finbar O’Brien (Gonzaga) started the
game off shaky, throwing six balls before finding his target. Sebastian Mexico, another all star,
perfectly executed a hit and run, grounding a ball past Randy Seymour and putting runners on
the corners with no one out. Issac Wachsmann grounded into a double play, scoring Michael
Elko and tying the game at a run a piece.
Both pitchers settled in from there, while O’brien consistently gave up hits and worked with
traffic on the basepaths, no more Blue Sox crossed home on his watch. His final line saw him
strike out five batters through five innings, giving up nine hits but only allowing the one run.
Beau Elson - Valley’s starter and an all star in his own right, pitched four innings, matching
O’brien’s strikeouts with five and only allowing three hits with the one run.
Newport kept the game tied for so long thanks to several double plays. In the third inning with
men on the corners, Kyle Branch initiated a 4-6-3 double play to keep the game knotted and
Colby Wallace repeated the feat later on with an incredible diving stop which turned two.
While Valley’s bats stayed active even when they were unable to string a rally together to add to
their run total, the same can’t be said for Newport. After the first, the Gulls only had five
baserunners for the rest of the contest, all coming from hits.
The teams remained locked in a stalemate until the sixth, Tristan Bristow (Vanderbilt) came
into the game for Newport. After inducing a quick groundout, he faltered, giving up a single to
Drew Loikits and moving him to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Chris Carson delivered,
the Stony Brook product smashed an RBI single into right field, giving Valley a lead that they
held onto for the rest of the night.
Bristow pitched the remainder of the game and locked things down, not allowing another run.
He finished with two strikeouts in three innings of work.
Newport put men on in each of the last three innings, including a double from Michael Gupton.
But Valley’s pitching and defense snuffed out any rally. Colby Wallace was robbed of a game
tying RBI in the eighth by Valley third baseman Wyatt Hunt, and Andrew Wertz slammed the
door in the ninth, lifting the Blue Sox to the win.

Newport has their final home game before the all star break tomorrow when they host the
Ocean State Waves, first pitch in this year’s fifth edition of the pell bridge series is set for 6:35
from Cardines Field and can be watched on ESPN+.