Lynn, Mass- The Newport Gulls emerged victorious against the North Shore Navigators with a 4-1 win vs the North Shore Navigators. The win brings the Gulls’ season record to 18-4 while the Navigators fall to 9-13.
This was the fourth meeting between the teams, with the Gulls winning two of the first three.
Before the game, Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech) shared his excitement about his previous night’s performance, where he hit a two-run home run and a double, going 3 for 4. Hare stated, “It feels good to be out there and swinging the bat. I’m seeing the ball pretty well, so hopefully we can continue to do that and put good swings on the ball.”
The game began after a 43-minute rain delay. JD Thompson (Vanderbilt University) was on the mound for the Gulls and had an exceptional performance, earning the win after six innings of work. He gave up three hits while striking out twelve, giving up just one unearned run. Thompson retired the first 11 batters, including striking out the first nine he faced.
The Navigators’ Brayden Clark (Salve Regina University) pitched four innings, giving up six hits, two earned runs, and four strikeouts, resulting in a loss.
Anthony Donofrio (Quinnipiac University) singled to left in the first inning and advanced to second on an error. Kolby Branch (Baylor University) bunted, and catcher Jackson Horning (Kansas State University) threw the ball to right field, resulting in another Navigator error. Branch went to second, and Donofrio scored the first run of the game.
In the third inning, Donofrio singled and stole second. He would get to third, and Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech) would drive him in on a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Gulls.
The fourth and fifth innings were uneventful, with no runs scored for both teams.
In the sixth inning, the Gulls had a runner on second, but couldn’t connect on a big hit to increase their lead.
Thompson got into trouble in the sixth after an error. The next batter Jake Berger tripled to score the first run for the Navigators but Thompson managed to limit the damage to one run, striking out two of the next three hitters.
In the seventh, Trent Farquhar (Michigan State University) tripled bringing in the third run of the game, with Kolby Branch (Baylor University) scoring from first. The Gulls added one more run in the inning, giving them a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
After Thompson’s departure, the Gulls’ bullpen stepped up as they pitched three shutout innings not allowing a run, and secured the win, 4-1.
The Gulls will return to Cardines Field tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. to face the Marthas Vineyard Sharks on ESPN Plus.
