In a remarkably wild back and forth game that required 11 innings, the Newport Gulls edged out the Valley Blue Sox 10-6 to sweep the first round series and punch their ticket into the semifinals of the NECBL Playoffs.
On a sunny and hot Saturday afternoon at Mackenzie Stadium, the game started out as a pitchers duel and stayed that way through most of the contest. Matt Lauria started on the mound for the Blue Sox and pitched a scoreless first couple of innings before the Gulls struck first in the third. Greg Bozzo (Northeastern) singled for Newport’s first hit of the game and eventually scored on an Andrew Duncan (Florida State) single.
The score remained 1-0 until the Blue Sox put together an efficient fifth inning at the plate. After Gulls starting pitcher Cole Cheatham (UAB) seemingly settled in nicely in the prior few innings, EJ Ettinger led off the fifth with a single and that was followed by a Logan Hugo single to put runners on the corners. Then, a Lucas Manning sacrifice fly scored Ettinger to tie the game. Valley continued to execute as a Jay Bant single drove in Hugo to give the Blue Sox a 2-1 lead. After that, a walk marked the end of Cheatham’s afternoon, allowing just four hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 4 ⅓ innings. Michal Kovala (Chipola) replaced Cheatham and limited the damage with a Michael Toth sacrifice fly scoring Bant and making it 3-1 Valley through five innings.
Newport answered right back in the top of the sixth as Dixon Williams (East Carolina) and Tyler Hare (Woford) both doubled and then led to Matt Lauria being taken out for Andrew Wertz after a nine strikeout performance in 5 ⅓ innings. Once Wertz came in, a Matt Ossenfort (NC State) sacrifice fly brought Williams home and a Randy Seymour (Michigan State) single scored Hare to tie it up at 3-3.
The drama intensified in the seventh when Carmelo Musacchia (Northeastern) got on base after getting hit by a pitch. He stole second to advance into scoring position. Moments after that, he decided to take off for third with two outs and succesfully pulled off the steal. Then, a wild pitch allowed Musacchia to come home and gave Newport a 4-3 lead. The Blue Sox quickly responded in the bottom of the seventh and it all started with Jay Bant reaching on a dropped third strike. After an Anthony Scarabino single advanced him to second, Bant scored on a Michael Toth single to tie the game 4-4.
Conor Wolf pitched a scoreless eighth and Mikey Jensen did the same in the ninth for Valley. On the other side, Michal Kovala continued to dominate and finished out the ninth, striking out nine batters in 4 ⅔ innings. After neither team scored in the final two frames, the game went to extra innings.
The Gulls started off the extra frame strong, with Niko Brini (Wofford) doubling and advancing to third on a balk. Then, an Andrew Duncan double scored Brini. A few batters later, Duncan came home on a Tyler Hare double to give the Gulls a 6-4 lead. Adam Walker (Austin Peay) took over on the mound in the bottom of the 10th for Newport and retired the first two batters he faced. Down to their final out of the season, Kyle Hennington reached with a walk and Andre Vidal got on base thanks to a dropped third strike. Then, an EJ Ettinger single drove in Hennington to cut Newport’s lead down to one. After that, the unthinkable happened and Logan Hugo delivered a single to score Vidal and tie the game. The pressure heightened for Walker on the bump and after a walk to load up the bases with the game tied, he was replaced by Campbell Holt (Austin Peay). Jay Bant had the chance to be the hero for Valley but smoked a ball straight into the golve of first baseman Matt Ossenfort to send the game to the 11th inning.
Mikey Jensen continued to pitch for Valley in the 11th and that turned into another wild inning. Both Carmelo Musacchia and Greg Bozzo singled with one out to put two runners on for Newport. After Jensen got the second out, the inning seemed to be over but an error by shortstop Ray Toth allowed Andrew Duncan to reach first and extend the frame with the bases loaded. Following that, Dixon WIlliams sent a ball to the outfield to score Musacchia and Bozzo. Then, another error, this time by first baseman Jay Bant, allowed Duncan and Williams to score, giving Newport a commanding 10-6 lead.
Campbell Holt came in for Newport in the 11th in an attempt to finally secure the win for Newport. While Michael Toth was hit by a pitch and reached second on a wild pitch, Kyle Hennington grounded out to end the game and clinch the series for the Gulls.
With the sweep of Valley, Newport advances to the semifinals and will take on Bristol in another best-of-3 series and rematch of last year’s championship. The Gulls are the higher seed and therefore have home field advantage. Game 1 is slated for Sunday night at Cardines Field at 6:35 with Game 2 on Monday night in Bristol and Game 3 (if necessary) on Tuesday back in Newport.