MARTHA’S VINEYARD, MA – In a game full of home runs, the Newport Gulls fell just short in a 7-6 loss at the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. Newport overcame an early deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback on the road.
After appearing out of the bullpen twice this season, Michal Kovala (Georgia Tech) made his first start on the hill for the Gulls. The righty faced adversity early on as Will Lybrook made his presence felt early with a three-run blast to open the scoring in the first inning. After settling in the next inning, the Sharks offense came alive again in the third. Andrew Yu notched Martha’s Vineyard’s second home run of the night with a two-run shot. Then, Will Lybrook, the next batter, went deep for back-to-back home runs and the Sharks took a commanding 6-0 lead. Kovala’s night came to an end once the inning concluded, allowing four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Brad Pruett (Oklahoma) entered in the fourth out of the bullpen.
Jackson Cole started on the mound for the Sharks and pitched four scoreless innings before the Gulls got on the board in the fifth. Dixon Williams (East Carolina) and Jack Doyle (Northeastern) both got on with walks to lead off the inning. They both went on to score thanks to a sacrifice fly from Randy Seymour (Michigan State) and a passed ball. Cole Was replaced by Luke Brown who closed out the fifth and pitched the sixth inning for Martha’s Vineyard.
Trailing 6-2, Newport’s bats came alive in the sixth inning. After one hit through the first five frames, the Gulls tallied five in the sixth. The rally started with a Matt Ossenfort (Vanderbilt) double followed by singles from Andrew Duncan (Florida State) and Dixon Williams (East Carolina). Williams’ hit drove in Ossenfort to cut the deficit to three. Then, with two runners on base, Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State) remained hot at the plate with a home run to tie the game at 6-6.
With all of the momentum seemingly on Newport’s side, Martha’s Vineyard had a quick response in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff deep drive over the fence from Scott Seeker put the Sharks back in front with their fourth home run of the night. That was Pruett’s only hit allowed in four innings of work, tallying six strikeouts and not walking any batters. Cade Connolly pitched the eighth for Newport, not allowing a hit.
Down by one, the Gulls loaded the bases in the seventh and left two stranded in the eighth but couldn’t capitalize in the final innings as Dante Pavone and Jack Beauchesne closed it out on the mound for the Sharks and secured the 7-6 victory.
After a five-game win streak, Newport has dropped its last two games. Now 6-5, the Gulls hold a ½ game lead for first place in a competitive Coastal Division. Newport returns home on Wednesday to face Mystic in another Divisional matchup with first pitch at 6:35.
