It was a beautiful afternoon for a coastal division doubleheader as the Newport Gulls took on the North Shore Navigators. Starting on the mound for the Gulls was Ty Starke (Louisville). Toeing the rubber for the Navigators was Josh Lajoie. The first game was continued from a rainout on June 21 and began in the bottom of the 2nd inning with two outs, runners on first and second, and the score 1-0 Navigators.
The top half of the third inning showcased a nice double play for the Gulls preventing the Navigators from getting the bats started. In the bottom of the 3rd, Lajoie highlighted a 1-2-3 inning with back-to-back strikeouts.
The top of the 4th began with a leadoff strikeout for Ty Starke. A walk followed by a balk got a rally started for North Shore. A single from Reece Moroney placed runners on the corners and a hit by pitch loaded the bases. A backward K from Starke put two outs on the board but next at-bat, Kyle Jones worked a full count walk to drive in a second run for the Navigators.
Matt Ossenfort (NC State) got things started for the Gulls in the bottom half of the 4th with a leadoff double. Jake Burley (Wake Forest) capitalized on the situation with an RBI single cutting the lead to one. Lajoie continued his strong performance with two more strikeouts bringing his total on the day to 4 through 2.1 innings of work.
Matthew Chatelle started off the fifth inning by tallying his second hit of the game (one being from the first inning). A couple batters later, Patrick D’Amico hit a single to left field placing runners on first and second. A balk by Starke scored the Navigators’ third run. Starke got out of the inning with his third strikeout of the game.
The bottom of the fifth was eventful for the Gulls as Tyler Hare (Wofford) belted a solo home run for his third of the summer. Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State) and Randy Seymour (Michigan State) continued the rally hitting back-to-back singles. Stevens’ single clocked in at 102 mph exit velocity. Nolan Stevens stole third base and on a wild throw down to third, he scored, tying the game.
Ossenfort worked a walk putting runners on the corners. Lajoie bounced back with another strikeout but a wild pitch scored Newport’s fourth run of the game. Burley worked a walk and that was the end of Lajoie’s night. Justin Posnick came in to relieve. An error put Jack Doyle (Northeastern) on first loading the bases for the Gulls. Niko Brini (Wofford) continued his hot streak with an RBI single into right field. Back-to-back wild pitches scored two more runs for Newport. Andrew Duncan (Florida St.) reached first on a walk but a ground out to the pitcher finally ended the six-run inning for Newport.
Drew DeLucia (Franklin Pierce) came in relief for Newport in the 6th inning. DeLucia quickly struck out the first two batters on a total of seven pitches. Daniel MacDougall reached on an error but Niko Brini ended the inning with a great catch in right field.
Nolan Stevens led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a four-pitch walk. Stevens reached second base on his second stolen base of the day. Ossenfort reached first base on another four-pitch walk and Nick Reiser came in to replace Posnick. He rapidly recorded a strikeout but next at-bat, Burley reached first base on a four-pitch walk creating a bases-loaded opportunity for Jack Doyle. He reached base on a hit by pitch driving in another run for Newport and bringing the score through 6 innings to 8-3.
Drew DeLucia continued his dominant performance in the 7th inning with a 3-pitch strikeout. D’Amico recorded his third hit of the game with a single to left field. Ryan Gerety ripped a single off the wall placing runners on the corners. Moroney worked a walk loading the bases for the Navigators. Brendan Jones took advantage of the opportunity, hitting an RBI single. With a full count, Drew DeLucia struck out his fourth batter of the day. K. Jones hit a two RBI single cutting the lead to 2. Nick DiRito (UMass Lowell) came in to relieve DeLucia and struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning. Andrew Duncan led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a walk. Reiter recorded a strikeout but Duncan reached second on a stolen base. Nolan Stevens worked a 10 pitch at bat which resulted in a walk. Duncan and Stevens both stole putting both runners in scoring position. Reiser struck out his second batter of the inning which was followed by an RBI single from Matt Ossenfort to extend the Gulls lead to 3.
Nick DiRito threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 7th featuring a strikeout to end the inning. Thomas Sullivan came in to pitch for the Navigators in the bottom half of the frame. Jack Doyle crushed a solo home run followed by a double from Niko Brini to get the inning going for the Gulls. Andrew Duncan reached first base but Brini was tagged out in a run down. Tyler Hare hit an RBI single to score Duncan, increasing the Gulls lead to 5. Tyler Hare reached second on a stolen base but Sullivan recorded a strikeout to end the inning.
The Navigators added one run in the top of the 9th on an RBI single from pinch hitter Brady Dever but it wasn’t enough as DiRito closed the door for an 11-7 Gulls win.
It was a quick turnaround for the second game of the doubleheader. All-star selection Aidan Coleman (Pittsburgh) got the start for Newport, while Zach Morris (Rhode Island) took the mound for the North Shore Navigators.
Coleman cruised through the first inning, but it wasn’t the same for Morris. The Gulls only tallied a single hit but walks and questionable defense led to an early 2-0 Newport lead. Niko Brini and Nolan Stevens scored unearned runs due to a wild pitch and an error by Morris.
Coleman continued his dominance striking out two batters in the second inning. With six batters faced, only one was able to reach base. Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) stepped up to the plate to start the bottom of the second inning for the Gulls and struck out swinging. Then, Luke Orbon swung on the first pitch for a quick flyout. Greg Bozzo (Northeastern) grounded out to the shortstop to end a blisteringly fast inning. Gulls remained in the lead 2-0.
Coleman continued throwing strikes as he faced the bottom third of the Navigators’ lineup. Ryan MacDougall (Dayton) flew out to center before the next batter was struck out swinging. Coleman’s velocity and precision placement were evident in a speedy game. After walking B. Jones (Holy Cross), Coleman earned a flyout to end the top of the third inning.
Both Doyle and Brini of the Gulls grounded out to the shortstop to begin the bottom of the third. Martin appeared to have settled down and was getting outs easily until Stevens earned a walk and advanced on a wild pitch. Tyler Hare was hit by a pitch, allowing Randy Seymour (Michigan State) an RBI opportunity. A single scored Stevens and advanced Hare to third, while the best hitter in the league, Dixon Williams (East Carolina), prepared to bat. After fouling off multiple pitches, Williams smashed a double off the right-field wall that scored two runs. Musacchia flew out to end the third inning. The Gulls took a 5-0 lead.
Ryan Gerety (Northeastern) hit an infield single to begin the fourth inning but was put out at second base after a ground ball by the next batter. That next batter was Isaac Kim (Cal Santa Barbara) who reached first on a fielder’s choice. Coleman looked comfortable on the mound after he struck out Rao and made quick work of the final batter of the top of the fourth. Jack Volo (Georgetown) entered the game for North Shore as the new pitcher. Orbon began the bottom of the fourth with an infield single. Bozzo stepped up a cranked the first pitch he saw out to right field for a single that advanced Orbon to third. A challenging double play by the Navigators infield created the first two outs, but Orbon was able to score. A Brini single proved meaningless after Stevens lined out to center to end the inning. The Gulls pushed their lead to 6-0.
Coleman improved his strikeout total to 5 with 1 in the top of the fifth inning. Two quick flyouts also occurred in the inning as the all-star’s outing continued to be impressive. Volo hit Hare with a pitch to begin the bottom of the fifth, later throwing a wild pitch that would advance Hare to second. Seymour struck out before Williams skied one out to center for out number two. Volo got out of the inning without allowing a hit or a run.
Coleman remained in the game for Newport and the first two batters grounded out to second in quick fashion. Gerety approached the plate looking to do some damage for the scoreless Navigators. He struck out swinging but was still one of only two Navigators to record a hit in the game. The Gulls looked to add some insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Cole Mascott (Northwestern) entered the game and took the mound for the Navigators. Orbon drew a walk before Bozzo knocked a long single to the right field wall. With two runners on, the Gulls had their eyes set on a blowout. Doyle struck out looking for the first out. A wild pitch advanced both runners. Brini struck out looking, opening the door for North Shore to escape the inning unscathed. Stevens refused to let that happen as he sent a ball deep to left center for his fourth home run of the season. It was a three-run blast that gave the Gulls a 9-0 lead. A Hare ground out took the game to the seventh and final inning.
Entering the top of the seventh and last inning, Coleman returned to attempt a complete and scoreless game. A spectacular play at second base by Luke Orbon created the first out of the top of the seventh. Santino Rao singled, keeping the Navigator’s hopes alive. Coleman retired Moroney who struck out on one knee for the second out. Brady Dever (Brown) singled to create an opportunity for North Shore. Two more singles created a run for the Navigators, and the bases became loaded. B. Jones stepped up with a chance to make things very interesting. A fading fly ball to left field was caught by Musacchia at the last second to end the game.
The Gulls won both games, winning the first 11-7, and the second 9-1. The Gulls will travel to Vermont to take on the Mountaineers, on Tuesday. North Shore will travel to Martha’s Vineyard for a game against the Sharks.
