Gulls Crash Waves, Move on to Face Mystic Thursday in Newport
August 5, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
Newport Gulls vs. Ocean State Waves
(Newport Gulls, Credit: Meg Kirby / Newport Gulls)
NEWPORT, R.I. - In a season series that was mostly decided by pitching, it's only fitting that the game that decided which side would advance in the postseason completely flipped the script. The Newport Gulls beat the Ocean State Waves 8-5 at Cardines Field on Wednesday to eliminate the Waves from the postseason for the second year in a row.
Newport will move on in postseason competition to face the Mystic Schooners in a best-of-three series starting Thursday night at Cardines Field. The winner of the Southern Division Championship Series will advance to the NECBL finals and have a chance to win take home the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup.
Game Three starting pitchers Colton Hock and Ryan Gray dominated their opposition the last time they pitched, but struggled in their starts in Game Three. Both offenses worked high pitch counts out of the starting pitchers and matched each other through four innings, keeping the score locked, first at 1-1, then 2-2.
After a Waves run in the fifth, Gulls mid-July signee Stephen Sauter got a hold of a 2-2 pitch and blasted the ball over the right-field fence to give Newport its first lead of the ballgame, 5-3. Sauter has totaled five hits since arriving, and four of them have gone for extra bases.
Manager Mike Coombs said the catcher has been an invaluable addition to the squad.
"I can play him at first, I can catch him and he gets after it," Coombs said. "I'm proud of him and what he does and how he's handled the pitching staff, which he's done a very good job at."
In the next half-inning, Hock gave up a two-run homer to Buck McCarthy to re-tie the game and chase the pitcher from Stanford. Hock was replaced by Michael Bono, who came out firing to set down Ocean State with no more damage done.
In the bottom half of the sixth, with the score tied for the third time of the night at 5-5, the Gulls pulled ahead for good. With two runners on and two outs, first baseman Drew Lugbauer turned on an inside pitch and delivered a three-run blast to centerfield, his sixth total of the summer.
Lugbauer had struggled a bit in the series, but delivered when it mattered most to give his team a lead and a win.
In a game that was back-and-forth for the first two-thirds of the matchup, the game's offensive slowed to a halt in the final three innings, thanks in large part to the stellar pitching of Bono.
In the three innings he pitched on his own, the right-hander from Santa Clara allowed just two baserunners and kept Ocean State's hitters at bay, much to the delight of his manager.
"He was outstanding," Coombs said. "He threw the ball well. His breaking pitches were working, and when that happens, you're going to be successful."
Newport does not get much time to rest, however, as the Gulls will turn around in less than 24 hours to begin the next round of the playoffs against the Mystic Schooners, a team that has battled Newport as well as any this season, owning a 3-3 record this summer. Mystic swept the New Bedford Bay Sox in two games and had a day of rest Wednesday waiting for their opponent to be decided.
The Gulls host Mystic for Game One at Cardines Field at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6. Game Two will take place at "The Shipyard" at Fitch High School Field in Groton, Connecticut, on Friday at 6:05 p.m. If needed, the Gulls, who locked up home-field advantage throughout the postseason, would host Game Three back in Newport at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 8.
The winner of the Southern Division Championship Series will move on to the NECBL Championship Series, another best-of-three set, starting Sunday, Aug. 9 to face either the Vermont Mountaineers, who swept the Laconia Muskrats, or the North Adams SteepleCats, who upset the Sanford Mainers tonight in an extra-inning win.
All of the games will be broadcast and televised on the NECBL Broadcast Network. Special extended Pregame Show coverage begins Thursday at 5:50 p.m. for Game One in advance of the 6:35 first pitch.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.
Images from this story
 Newport Gulls vs. Ocean State Waves (Meg Kirby / Newport Gulls) |
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 5, 2015
- Mountaineers to Play North Adams in Second Round - Vermont Mountaineers
- Gulls Crash Waves, Move on to Face Mystic Thursday in Newport - Newport Gulls
- Game Three Tonight in Newport; Gulls Defeat Waves 8-4 in Game Two - Newport Gulls
- Mountaineers Advance to Northern Division Finals - Vermont Mountaineers
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