NEWS

Sanford, ME – It was a thrilling second night of the semifinals round as the Newport Gulls and Sanford Mainers swept their opponents on their way to the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup Championship Series. Here is all of the action from Monday night.

 

#1 Vermont Mountaineers vs #4 Sanford Mainers

Sanford, ME – In game one, the Sanford Mainers led 7–4 in the seventh, looking to steal a win on the road. After the game was suspended due to fog, the Mainers and Mountaineers played two on Monday, this time at Goodall Park in Sanford. Here is all of the action from the two games in Maine.

 

Before the game was suspended, the Mainers and Mountaineers traded blows, with the Mountaineers striking first in the bottom of the first. Brennan Hyde (Rutgers) hit an RBI single to give the Mountaineers an early 1–0 lead. However, the Mainers scored the next three runs, capped off by an RBI single by Evin Sullivan (Binghamton). The Mountaineers would tie the game immediately after with back-to-back home runs by David Michael Jefferson (Notre Dame) and Hyde. With the game deadlocked 3–3, the Mainers pulled away with two in the fourth and one in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7–4 lead going into the suspension. Caleb Shpur (UConn) and Raymond Velazquez (Vanderbilt) crushed solo home runs to pad the lead.

 

When the game resumed at Goodall Park, the Mainers pitching staff kept the Mountaineers’ bats quiet. Jackson Walsh (Wheaton) pitched a perfect three innings in relief for the Mainers, earning the save to put the Mainers up 1–0 in the semifinals series.

 

You can view the game one box score here.

 

Game two began at 6:30 PM and was looking like a pitcher’s duel early on. Through the first three innings, the two teams combined for three hits. However, in the top of the fourth, the rain began to pummel the field and the game went into an hour rain delay. After the delay ended, Andrew Mannelly (Wofford) was the first batter up and he delivered the lead for the Mountaineers, hitting a two-run double to put them up 2–0 in the fourth.

 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Mainers cut the deficit in half as Raymond Velazquez (Vanderbilt) hit an RBI double, then in the bottom of the fifth his Vanderbilt teammate Colin Barczi tied the game with another RBI double to even up the score at 2–2.

 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Mainers broke through and took the lead thanks to an RBI double by Caleb Shpur (UConn). The Mainers added two more runs in the inning thanks to Barczi and Evin Sullivan (Binghamton). That would be the nail in the coffin as the Mainers defeated the #1 seeded team in the Mountaineers, 5–3 to sweep their semifinals series.

 

You can view the box score here.

 

Sullivan, who had multiple key hits for the Mainers, said the rain delay did not slow down the team’s momentum, keeping their composure during the pause.

 

“We’ve had to deal with it the past week or so,” Sullivan said. “We’ve gotten pretty used to it and by now we know to stay locked in.”

 

Devan Bade (Binghamton), gave his props to the bullpen for coming in clutch for the Mainers, locking down the Mountaineers offense on a night where runs were at a premium..

 

“It’s electric,” Bade said. “I love every single guy that comes out of this pen and every single pitcher that we have is outstanding. Dan McAliney (Binghamton) was an absolute dog tonight, Kai [Leckszas] (Georgetown) coming in and then our closer [Beau Brailey] (Alabama) comes in and gets it done.”

 

The Mainers advance to the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup Championship Series for the first time since 2016, where they will square up against the Newport Gulls. Game one will be at Cardines Field on Wednesday night at 6:30. You can stream the series exclusively on ESPN+.

 

#2 Newport Gulls vs #3 Bristol Blues

Bristol, CT – Newport sweeps to advance to third straight championship. The game remained scoreless the first few innings until Bristol’s half of the third inning. This was when a pair of singles off the bats of Dean Ferrara (Fairfield) and Gavin Greger (Bryant) plated two runs. In the top of the fourth the Newport team answered back with a Nolan Stevens (Mississippi St) three-run mon shot. In the bottom of the inning, Bristol’s offense responded with a two-run single from Jordan Peyton (Towson). In their next at bats, the Gulls tied the game at four a piece on a single by Nico Brini (Wofford). 

 

With the lead, the Gull’s offense stayed alive, scoring one in both the sixth and seventh innings. In the bottom of the seventh, a single to third base hit by Dean Ferrara plated a run for the Blues. In the final inning of the game, the Gulls tacked on a run when Dixon Williams (ECU) hit a sacrifice fly to score NIko Brini. In the bottom of the ninth with the season on the line, the Blues looked to start a comeback. The home team scored one run, but were unable to catch the reigning NECBL champs.

 

Pitching wise, Newport’s starting pitcher Drew Blake (Oklahoma St U) earned the win. On the other side, Bristol’s Jafar Vohra (U of New Haven) was the star out of the bullpen. Vohra tossed 1.1 hitless innings with two strikeouts.

 

In the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup, Newport looks to earn their third straight championship. This time the Gulls will take on the Mainers starting on Wednesday, August 7th.
 

You can view the box score here.

 

The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 230 alumni to the Major Leagues with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.