The Newport Gulls took yet another one run contest against their bitter cross state rivals, knocking off the Ocean State Waves 8-7 on Wednesday, July 16th. The Gulls swept the Waves at home this season, all three wins coming by a single run. Leighton Harris (Kentucky) put his 0.00 ERA on the line against Ocean State and carved up the Waves lineup in the top of the first, striking out the side.

Sal Valenzuela took the ball for Ocean State and was nearly as efficient to start, striking out the first two batters he faced and retiring the side in order. Harris couldn’t repeat the feat in the top of the second and ran into some trouble, Gavin Greger led off by popping up and dropping a single in between Randy Seymour (Michigan St) and Matthew Bolton (Binghamton). Matthew Brinker followed up with a hard hit single, and the runners were both moved into scoring position after a groundout from Coen Niclai. With men on second and third and only one out, Harris got out of the jam unscathed, delivering his fourth strikeout of the evening and inducing a groundout to Randy Seymour.

Newport put their first man on base thanks to a base hit from Adam Agresti (St. John’s), the catcher stole second but was stranded there after a Kyle Branch (Oklahoma) flyout. Harris walked the tightrope once again in the third, walking and hitting a batter to put two on with one out. This time, he didn’t fall into the safety net, Kolton Reynolds ripped an RBI double off the right center field wall and Greger brought Tommy Melusky home when he grounded out.

Harris kept the damage at two runs, getting Brinker to pop out to Branch. Newport threatened in the bottom of the third, Ryan Novak (Miami OH) walked to flip the batting order back to the top and back to Bolton, who smacked a single to put men on the corners with one out. Michael Gupton (Memphis) couldn’t lay off a high fastball and struck out, but Colby Wallace (East Carolina) laced a single back up the middle to cut the deficit in half. Seymour lined out to end the inning.

Jake Gregor (Louisville) relieved Harris in the fourth and immediately ran into trouble, letting up a wallball double to Niclai and an RBI single to Zach Plaschaertt. Plaschaertt eventually reached third and tried to score on a wild pitch, but he was cut down at home to end the inning and keep the score at 3-1. Ocean State pulled their starter after three as well, Valenzuela exited after striking out four and giving up one run. Agresti roped his second hit of the evening into left field to lead off the inning. Branch perfectly executed a hit and run by going the other way with a single, moving Agresti to third. Branch commanded the attention of new pitcher Rhys Bowie on first base, taking aggressive leads and even trying for second on a pitch that was fouled away. Bowie threw over several times, eventually throwing the ball away, allowing Agresti to stroll home and moving Branch to third. Novak battled with two outs, but looked at strike three, stranding the tying run
90 feet away.

In the top of the fifth, Gregor continued to sputter, hitting Brandon DeGoti to start the frame and giving up a run-scoring double to Meluskey. Gregor worked two outs, and with pinch runner Ryan Gerety at third, the inning ended with a play at the plate once again. Gregor was the
beneficiary of an unorthodox bounce off the backstop on a wild pitch, and Gerety was out by at least 10 feet.

Newport put some traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the fifth, Bolton walked and Gupton ripped his first hit of the night, extending his team best hitting streak to 11 games. Wallace brought the Cardines Field crowd to its feet with a hard hit RBI double to cut Ocean State’s lead
to a run. Seymour then hit a slow high bouncing grounder back to Bowie, he airmailed the throw to first, allowing two runs the score, helping the Gulls turn a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Agresti kept the beat rolling with his third hit of the night, which brought Seymour to third. Will Fosberg (Northeastern) singled home Seymour and chased Bowie in the process, who left the game unable to get an out in the fifth and giving up five runs (four earned) in one inning, striking out two and giving up seven hits.

New pitcher Brandon Hsu got some luck when Branch lined out and Seymour failed to tag up. With two outs, Petey Craska (North Alabama) lined out to end the threat. Aiden O’Connell (Vanderbilt) took the ball in the top of the sixth and struggled after getting a quick first out, throwing balls on eight of nine pitches and putting two men on with walks. The bases then loaded on an error from O’Connell. An RBI single from Niclai for his second hit of the game moved the runners from station to station. The righty continued his struggles with control,
hitting DeGoti to bring the game even once more. The Waves then regained their lead just two pitches later on a sacrifice fly from Gerety. The damage stopped at three runs when Connell struck out Reynolds.

Newport answered back in the bottom half though, Gupton left Earth, homering to tie the game at seven apiece. The pitching settled in for a while after the long home run. While the Waves put three runners on in the seventh, they stayed off the scoresheet largely thanks to a 6-4-3 double play initiated by Seymour. Not to be outdone, a strike out/throw out double play from Ocean State ended a budding Gulls rally in the bottom half. Ocean State struck back in the top of the eighth, Greg Pettay ripped a double down the right field line for his second hit of the day and stole third on the first pitch of the next at bat, after that pitch, Marcel Kulik (Virginia Tech) relieved O’Connell and was the immediate beneficiary of yet another Wallace web gem. Two walks loaded the bases, and Novak gave Greger a new lease on life by misjudging a catchable foul ball, but Craska kept the tie game intact with a diving stop at first base.

In the inning’s bottom half, Branch led off with a single and then advanced to second thanks to Reynolds missing the cutoff man. Branch advanced to third on a groundout and then advanced home after a high fastball clipped in and out of the mitt of Ocean State catcher Brandyn Durand. The damage ended there, but the Gulls took the lead heading into the ninth. Kulik stayed on the bump in the top of the ninth and was the victim of some controversial officiating. After inducing a flyout for the first out of the inning, he delivered a two strike pitch that barely missed the zone. He, the Cardines faithful and manager Mike Coombs were incensed at the call, which led to a walk one pitch later. Thankfully for the Gulls, in the end it didn’t matter. Kulik induced another flyout and then caught Jack LaRose looking to end the
game.

The Gulls finish up their pre All-Star slate with a road game against the Mystic Schooners on Friday, first pitch is set for 6:30 and can be watched on NECBL+.