Newport, R.I– On Wednesday night, the Marthas Vineyard Sharks silenced the Newport Gulls’ bats, handing them their first loss at Cardines Field  with a score of 4-0. This was the second time within three days that both teams faced each other at Cardines. In their previous encounter Monday night, the Gulls had emerged victorious over the Sharks with a score of 7 to 3.

Martha’s Vineyards improved their season record to 4-7, whilethe Newport Gulls fell to 9-3. On the mound for the Gulls was the right-hander Ryan Andrade, (University of Rhode Island).After being dominant in his last start against North Adams, he struggled mightily tonight giving up 4 runs in just 1.2 inningspitched, and was charged with the loss. 

Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Middletown native from Rhode Island had posted a 2-0 record with an impressive 0.00 ERA. In the first inning, Andrade escaped out of trouble by striking out three Sharks hitters, as the Sharks left runners on the corners. However, in the second inning, the Sharks got the best of him, allowing four runs in the inning, highlighted by Ryan McCoy’s two-run single. 

In the third inning, after Luke Beckstein (Northeastern University) got hit by a pitch, he moved to second on a wild pitch. The Gulls had a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Noah Smith (University of Louisville) did his job as he moved Beckstein to third, but the Gulls couldn’t capitalize as they did not get the big hit to move closer in this game. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Gulls finally had their first hit of the game as Dakota Jordan (Mississippi State University) got an infield hit. He was pinch-run for by Anthony Donofrio (Quinnipiac University). He did not waste any time as he stole second, but  was a little too aggressive, and he got caught stealing, trying to advance 90 feet to third base. 

In the bottom of the fifth, with a man on first and two outs, the Gulls were given a gift as Smith reached on an error by the right-fielder, Aiden Tierney  (Mount Saint Mary University). However, that did not hurt the Sharks as Jacob Burley (Brown University) struck out looking to end the inning. The Gulls were still scratching to get the first run of the game, as they were down 4-0 at the end of the fifth inning. 

In the bottom of the sixth, with runners in the corner, Bryan Broecker (Michigan State University) grounded out to second base to end the inning. Harilaos Deliyannis night was over after pitching six innings, giving up three hits, one walk, and four strikeouts as he picked up the win on Wednesday night. 

Both the Gulls and Sharks’ bullpen did an unbelievable job of keeping both teams at bay. The Gulls are looking to bounce back tomorrow night against the Valley Blue Sox before they return back home this Friday for a 6:35 p.m. game as they face theNorth Shore Navigators.