Gulls Advance to NECBL Finals

Coming off a heartbreaking 7-6 loss in extra innings against the Plymouth Pilgrims on Saturday, the Newport Gulls were able to stave off elimination for the second time this postseason against the Pilgrims on Sunday. Backed by a five-run sixth inning, the Gulls clinched a spot in the NECBL Championship Series in front of 1,355 fans at Forges Field on Sunday with a 5-3 victory over the Pilgrims.

Getting the start for the Gulls in Game Three was Brett Hanewich, who last pitched in Game Two of the NECBL Quarterfinals against the Ocean State Waves on Wednesday. The righty from Stanford went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out five batters on the evening.

After two shutout innings to begin the game, Hanewich ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. Allowing a double to John Adams and hitting both James Bunn and Michael Martin with pitches, Hanewich eventually gave up an RBI single to Vincent Guglietti to give the Pilgrims a 1-0 lead after three innings.

The Pilgrims struck again in the bottom of the fourth inning. Getting the first two batters out, Hanewich allowed a single to Logan Koch. In the following at-bat, Adams launched his first home run of the postseason over the left field fence to give the Pilgrims a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, the Gulls offense had trouble stringing together a rally against Pilgrims starter Thomas Jankins. Their best chance early on came in the fifth inning, when P.J. Jones walked after Jose Vizcaino Jr. reached on a bunt single. However, Jankins was able to strike out Tyler Green, following that up by inducing a fly ball out off the bat of Reed Gamache, ending the inning while keeping the Pilgrims ahead, 3-0.

In the top of the sixth, the Gulls offense got off to a hot start against Jankins and the Pilgrims. A leadoff single by Shea Donlin set things up for Tommy Edman, who laced a ground-rule double to deep right to put two runners in scoring position. Ultimately, Ben Roberts drove home the Gulls’ first run on an RBI groundout to Thomas Roulis at second base. Two batters later, Tanner Donnels drove home his first run of the game on a blistering RBI single to center. Vizcaino Jr. continued his postseason magic by blasting a three-run home run to deep center field, giving the Gulls a 5-3 advantage.

Heading back on the mound with a newfound 5-3 lead, Hanewich struggled early against the Pilgrims. With a leadoff double by Matt Parisi and a walk to Koch, Hanewich was able to get Adams to fly out to left to hold the runners. As the top of the order was looming, Gulls manager Mike Coombs turned to the bullpen, bringing southpaw Marc Huberman into the game. Huberman promptly struck out Bunn and Roulis to end the seventh.

Huberman came back out for the seventh and eighth innings. Only allowing a single to Guglietti, Huberman continued his efficiency in the postseason, striking out four batters in 2 1/3 innings of work. The Gulls turned to him once again in the bottom of the ninth, with the Southern Division title on the line. Huberman started the inning by inducing a groundball out off the bat of Bunn. After walking Roulis, Huberman struck out Martin and Guglietti to retire the side, giving the Gulls a 5-3 victory and the Southern Division Championship.

With the win, the Gulls will make their eleventh appearance in the NECBL Championships, taking on the Sanford Mainers in their quest for the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup. John Kilichowski will make the Game One start for the Gulls, while the Mainers counter with Nicholas Poore. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m., as Nick Lima, Jeff Bowe, and Tim Scott will cover the action on the NECBL Broadcast Network.

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