By Stephen Hough – Team Publicist for Newport Gulls
Newport (2-2) earned its second win of the season Tuesday night in a 12-7 victory over the Ocean State Waves (1-4).
Newport jumped ahead early with Joey Bellinidoubling in his first plate appearance as a Gull, later coming around to score off a Brett Vosik double. The Gulls would tack on two more runs in the first after Hudson Haskin singled home Vosik and later came around to score himself.
After jumping to a 3-0 lead through one, the Gulls would tack on four more runs in the second inning that included three Ocean State errors and two Newport hits. Chris Hamilton was the only Gull to record an RBI in the inning.
Dillon Brown pitched well early on for the Gulls, keeping the ball low in the zone and forcing weak contact. It wasn’t until the third inning when two untimely errors and three Ocean State hits scored four runs (three earned) for the Waves. Patrick Maybach, the lefty from Salve Regina, came in for 3.2 innings of relief. He gave up three runs off of six hits while striking out five and earning the win. Fairfield’s Michael Sansone added 2.1 innings of hitless ball to close out the game, striking out five Ocean State batters along the way.
Newport would tack on an additional run in the sixth, two runs in the seventh, and two more runs in the eighth to give them the 12-7 victory. The late game scoring that sealed the deal for the Gulls was highlighted by a solo blast from Bellini to lead off the sixth inning.
The win gives the Gulls the first victory of the Pell Bridge Series and their second victory of the year. They will be back in action on Wednesday night against the Danbury Westerners (4-0) at Cardines Field, first pitch set for 6:35.