Gulls Walk it Off in Wild Fashion!

Wednesday night's match between the Gulls and Schooners was a game that started as a pitcher's duel, and ended in what might be a first for the NECBL. But to understand how crazy it was, we need to go back to the start of the game.

Going into this game, the Gulls were only half a game behind the Schooners for third place in the standings for the upcoming NECBL playoffs. Parker Rhodes (Sophomore, Mississippi State) was put on the mound to start the game. Though he didn't exactly have a gracious start, allowing the bases to be loaded in the first inning, and allowing two runners to get into scoring position in the second. In the third inning, he allowed bases to be loaded again, at which point the Gulls switched to Mickey McClaskey (Junior, Gonzaga). Though a run did score, he kept the damage to a minimum, only allowing that one run and another run in the fourth. Sadly, the Gulls bats were ice cold on this night, unable to find the right openings that would help the pitching staff succeed.

In the seventh inning, Mason Christopher (Junior, Seton Hall) came in, and kept up the work of the pitching staff, allowing only one hit and no walks in three innings of work. But the offense still needed to find a way to capitalize on the work of their three pitchers. It all came to a head in the bottom of the ninth, one that will be the stuff of Gulls legends for years to come.

At first, it started out with a strikeout that made it look like things were going to stay the same way that they had all night. Then, Brandon Larson (Senior, USC) who will be representing the Gulls in the Home Run Derby in Maine on Sunday came in as a pinch hitter and managed to get a seven-pitch walk. After that, Caeden Cloud (Sophomore, Kentucky) who is hoping to be sent to the All-Star game via fan vote came in to pinch hit as well, and cracked a double into right field. In the next at bat, Ryan Jaros (Senior, Rutgers) hit a single into left field, at which point Cloud and Larson turned on the after burners and managed to score the tying runs. At which point, the floodgates of weirdness flew wide open. When Ryan Novak (Senior, Miami U) came up to bat, the first pitch to him was a balk, allowing Jaros to get to second. Then, on the 1-1 count, Schooners pitcher Connor Lane's pitch was lost in the dirt and somehow rolled underneath catcher Joel Collado to the backstop. Collado was unable to find the ball as Jaros got to third, and as he rounded the base to try to head home, his path was blocked by third baseman Christian Butera. The officials ruled it as interference by Butera, causing Jaros to score on a walk-off error, giving the Gulls the 3-2 win in one of the most bizarre and extremely rare endings for a baseball game.

With their win, the Gulls will go to 22-15-1, and win the regular season series with Mystic 3-2. Newport would be the #3 seed if the season were to end after Wednesday, which would make their prospective opponents the Bristol Blues. The Gulls are also 5.5 games behind the Martha's Vineyard Sharks for the Southern Division lead that would qualify them for one of the Top 2 seeds in the playoff format. The Gulls have five games left in the season and end the regular season at home against the Sharks, while Martha's Vineyard has ten games left. The Gulls will resume play on Thursday when they travel up to Lynn to take on the North Shore Navigators, who are currently in the final playoff spot for now. North Shore won the match these two had at Cardines on June 15th by a score of 6-4. The Gulls will return to Cardines on Friday to take on the Bristol Blues for the second time this week.