The Newport Gulls and Martha’s Vineyard Sharks battled throughout the afternoon and evening
on Monday, July 7th. The southern division rivals split the two contests: with Martha’s Vineyard
taking the first game - which was suspended on June 6th - 4-2. Newport responded with an
emphatic seven inning 11-1 win in the second game. While the division leading Gulls were
unable to put anymore distance between themselves and the Sharks, they still maintain a 3.5
game lead over the third place Sharks and a two game lead over the Bristol Blues.
The game started over a month ago, on June sixth, and Martha’s Vineyard got off to a fast start.
Scoring runs in each of the first three innings before the game was suspended. The game
resumed in the top of the fourth with a man on first base with no outs, and Martha’s Vineyard
picked up where they left off. Casen Murphy (Louisville) took the ball and allowed the inherited
runner to score, Cole Mascolo crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-0.
Murphy pitched three innings total and struck out three, only allowing one hit, he was not
charged with the run he allowed.

In the bottom of the fourth, Newport’s achilles heel for the first game reared its ugly head: The
Gulls left 14 men on base in the first game, including 12 from the resumption of the affair.
Newport stranded two in the fourth, Andreaus Lewis (Manhattan) singled and Ryan Novak
(Miami) walked, but Chayce Kicek completed his start with two strikeouts, keeping the Gulls off
the board.
Both teams were kept off the scoreboard until the seventh, in the bottom of that frame, Matt
Ossenfort (Michigan) and Adrian Areizaga (Miami) led off with consecutive singles. Matthew
Bolton (Binghamton) brought Ossenfort home with a sacrifice fly. The bases eventually were
loaded due to Michael Gupton (Samford) and Randy Seymour (Michigan St) walking and
being hit by a pitch respectively. But Novak struck out as the tying run, keeping the damage at
one run.
The Gulls chipped away again in the eighth, Colby McNeely took the bump and walked
Ossenfort and Will Fosberg (Northeastern). Bolton once again stepped up, ripping a two strike
double into right field and scoring Fosberg. Gupton stepped to the plate with two outs as the go
ahead run, but lost a nine pitch battle to McNeely when he struck out on a high fastball.
Newport had yet another chance to tie or win the opening game in the ninth, Lewis singled and
Novak battled with new pitcher Rohan Lettow for 11 pitches, eventually drawing a walk. Lettow
buckled down to earn the save though, after a wild pitch put the tying run in scoring position, he
struck out Colby Wallace (East Carolina) and closed the game out by striking out Fosberg on a
3-2 pitch.

After under an hour of downtime, the two teams were back at it for game two, Drew Delucia
(Austin Peay St) got his final start of the year and earned the win in a rock solid performance,
pitching five innings and only allowing one run, striking out six Sharks.
After Delucia withstood a two hit top of the first, his bats gave him a comfortable cushion in the
bottom half. Bolton led off with a walk and Gupton ripped a single, setting up an RBI double
from Wallace and a two run single from Petey Craska (North Alabama). The Gulls left the first
inning with a 3-0 lead. While they took control of the game in the first, they blew it open in the
fourth.
Before that though, Martha’s Vineyard cut into that lead, Hunter High ripped a sacrifice fly to
score William Lybrook.
Newport exploded in the latter half of the fourth inning, after a walk to Kyle Branch (Oklahoma),
Adam Agresti (St. John’s) ripped his first extra base hit of the summer - an RBI double, to
extend the Newport lead to 4-0. Wallace scored Agresti on an RBI single, and Craska then left
the Earth- or at least Cardines Field, with a tape measure home run over the right field fence.
Craska’s third long ball of the season extended the Newport lead to 8-1 and gave him five RBIs
on the evening.

The Gulls put their final stamp on the evening with a three run sixth. With the bases loaded,
Adrian Areizaga scored wallace on a fiedler’s choice, and then took second on a throwing error
which also allowed Craska to come home. Josh Castellani (Clemson) finished the night with an
RBI single which scored Areizaga.
The Gulls head to Connecticut on Tuesday for a date with the Bristol Blues, the first of two
matchups between the foes this week. First pitch is set for 6:30 on ESPN+.