Following a long day on Monday with a doubleheader, the Newport Gulls had a very quick turnaround on Tuesday with a trip to Fraser Field for a morning matchup with the North Shore Navigators. Despite the early wake up and departure to Lynn for a rare 11 a.m. game, the Gulls weren’t fazed one bit and dominated the Navigators in a 12-0 victory behind a strong start on the mound for Brad Pruett (East Carolina) and an explosive display from the offense.
Going up against North Shore’s Owen Tross, Newport’s offense wasted no time taking an early lead. After Tyler Hare (Wofford) was walked, a Randy Seymour (Michigan State) single advanced Hare to third. That was followed up by a Dixon Williams (East Carolina) single to send Hare home and put the Gulls in front.
The second inning turned out to be more of the same with consecutive singles from Jake Burley (Wake Forest) and Luke Orbon (St. John’s) to begin the frame. An error and wild pitch eventually allowed Burley to come home and a Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State) single scored Orbon to give Newport a 3-0 lead.
The Gulls were held scoreless in the third but inflicted more damage in the fourth. Andrew Duncan tallied a single with one out and Nolan Stevens doubled after that to score Duncan and notch his second RBI of the day. Stevens eventually came home on an error to make it 5-0.
The Navigators went to their bullpen in the fifth inning when Jack Bello pitched a scoreless frame. Jack Iannibelli then entered in the sixth and that’s when Newport extended its lead. Nolan Stevens was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Tyler Hare, the next batter, belted a pitch over the right field fence for his second home run of the season.
Zach Morris pitched a scoreless seventh for North Shore before Pruett finished off a dominant outing on the mound. The righty tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Zach Gleason became North Shore’s fifth pitcher of the day in the eighth inning and Newport’s bats again delivered with two outs. This time, three straight singles from Dixon Williams, Matt Ossenfort (NC State) and Jake Burley (Wake Forest) produced a run to give the Gulls an 8-0 lead.
Cole Mascott pitched the final inning for the Navigators and the Gulls weren’t done yet offensively. After Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) reached on a fielder’s choice, Nolan Stevens on a walk and Tyler Hare on a hit by pitch, an error, Randy Seymour single, Dixon Williams sacrifice fly and Matt Ossenfort double drove in four total runs to give Newport a commanding 12-0 lead. Adam Walker (Austin Peay) pitched the final two innings for the Gulls and tallied two scoreless frames to give Newport its second shutout victory of the season.
The win was Newport’s first over North Shore in three meetings this summer. The two squads square off again Saturday in Lynn and on Monday for a doubleheader at Cardines Field. The Navigators drop to 10-15 with the loss while the Gulls improve to 16-10. Newport returns home for another Coastal Division matchup with Ocean State on Wednesday at 6:35.
