Gulls vs Sharks 7-11-23
Oak Bluffs, MA – The Newport Gulls scored seven runs in the eighth inning and erased a three-run deficit to take down the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, 10-5 on Tuesday night at the Shark Tank.
Nolan Nawrocki got the scoring started for the Sharks as he hit his first home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the first. Thanks to the big fly by Nawrocki, Martha’s Vineyard led 1-0 over Newport.
The Sharks continued to put pressure on the Gulls in the second. After a leadoff walk drawn by Ryan McCoy, Max Kaufer drove him home with a sacrifice fly to score the second run of the game for the Sharks.
In the fifth, Martha’s Vineyard made it three straight unanswered runs to begin the game. Aiden Tierney drove in Jimmy Romano with an RBI double to make it 3-0 Sharks after five innings of play.
The Gulls would get that run back in the next half inning. Matthew Schark (University of Southern Illinois) launched his third home run of the season to put Newport on the board to pull them within two runs of the Sharks heading to the bottom of the sixth.
The Sharks kept the scoring going in the home half of the sixth as Romano drove in McCoy on a sacrifice fly. The lead for Martha’s Vineyard rose back to three after the RBI from Romano.
In the eighth, the tide would turn for Newport. 11 batters came to the plate and seven runs were scored by the Gulls. There were only three hits and one RBI in the inning. That RBI came from Kolby Branch (University of Georgia) which scored Kolton Freeman (Dartmouth College) from second base. The other six runs were scored on wild pitches and errors made by the Sharks. After the crazy inning, the Gulls had their first lead of the game 8-4.
The Gulls would tack on a pair of runs in the ninth as Freeman drove home Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech University) with a sacrifice fly. Luke Beckstein (Northeastern University) then scored on Jacob Burley’s (Brown University) RBI single.
The Sharks added one in the ninth but that would be it and the Gulls held on for the comeback win.
The win for the Gulls raises their record to 22-7 on the season. With the loss, the Sharks drop to 10-16-1.
Adam Maher (University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth) started the game for the Gulls and pitched 4.1 innings and allowed two earned runs. Kade Shatwell (Oklahoma State University) then pitched the next 1.2 innings, allowing one run and striking out two batters. Garrett Simpson (Wright State University) pitched the seventh and eighth innings and did not allow a run. Braden Ostrander (Florida Atlantic University) shut the door in the ninth.
Newport will return home on Wednesday July 12th when they take on the North Shore Navigators at Cardines Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 and will be broadcasted live on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
