Zach Letson – Broadcaster and Team Publicist
Another game came down to the wire. Newport (24-11), for a 10th time this season, won a one-run game, topping Mystic (20-15) 3-2 at Dodd Stadium for a sixth straight victory Tuesday afternoon. It’s the third time this season the Gulls have a winning streak of at least six.
The story of the game was Gulls starter Logan McGuire. For a second time this summer, the Georgia Tech righty dominated against the Schooners. McGuire notched seven innings of two-hit ball, striking out five in a shutout performance. That included a stretch where McGuire retired 12 batters in a row. The Yellow Jacket is now tied for first in the NECBL after his fifth victory of the summer.
Luke Beckstein played a major role in Newport’s offensive output Tuesday. The Northeastern Huskie started the scoring in the fifth, racing home from third on a wild pitch. Two innings later, Beckstein came up big again, driving in the second Gulls run with an RBI double.
In the following inning, Kolton Freeman connected on a solo home run to deliver a massive insurance run for the Gulls. The blast was the Dartmouth outfielder’s first of the summer, and just the third home run hit all summer at pitcher-friendly Dodd Stadium.
The homer proved to be crucial, as Mystic rallied for two in the bottom of the eighth before Garret Simpson shut the door in the ninth. The Wright State righty picked up his second save in less than 24 hours, third of the season, and extended his scoreless innings streak to 13.2 to open the season.
The win is the third over Mystic by one run, and the fourth overall over the Coastal Division-rival Schooners in 2022.
The Gulls are back home for a seven-inning doubleheader tomorrow afternoon against another division foe, the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (21-13). First pitch for game one is at 3:00pm from Cardines Field, while the approximate start time for game two is 6:35pm.
