By Stephen Hough – Team Publicist
MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. – For the first time in Newport Gulls history, the team from the City by the Sea traveled to Martha’s Vineyard to take on the Sharks for the third time this season. Newport (13-10) struggled for the second night in a row, dropping the game against Martha’s Vineyard (15-9) by a score of 5-1.
The Sharks drew first blood after back-to-back singles set up Jackson Raper who delivered the third hit of the inning, driving home Rudy Aguilar to give the Vineyard an early one run lead.
Martha’s Vineyard would score three more runs in the second after taking advantage of two Gulls errors and cashing in on a Matt Chamberlain single to extend their lead to four.
Newport’s bats showed signs of life in the fifth, scoring their first and only run of the day when Zaid Walker ripped an RBI double down the right field line to score Hayden Jones.
The Vineyard would tack on one more run in the bottom of the frame as their starter continued to excel on the mound, throwing seven innings of one run baseball with six strikeouts. Past the fifth inning, the Gulls were only able to muster together two more hits on the night.
The loss makes it two in a row for the Gulls, and three on the season against the Sharks.
Newport is back in action on Monday, July 8th when they take on the North Adams SteepleCats (14-7) at Cardines Field for Clements’ Marketplace Night. First pitch is set for 6:35 pm.