DeLeon and Winger homer, Newport defeats Mystic 4-1 in regular season opener
Left fielder Alex DeLeon hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning and the Newport Gulls (1-0) defeated the Mystic Schooners (0-2), 4-1, on the road at Fitch Field on Saturday, June 9.
“We pitched, hit and played defense,” Newport Gulls field manager Mike Coombs told Gulls broadcaster Nick Lima after the win. “The players did everything we needed to do in all three elements of the game to win tonight.”
Daniel Wright (1-0) pitched seven strong innings to record the win in his season debut.Mitch Horacek struck out three of the six batters he faced working two scoreless innings in relief to pick up his first save of the season.
Third baseman Brett Winger added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run home run off Mystic reliever Jeremy Soule in the top of the ninth inning. Winger, a junior from Michigan, went 3-for-4 with a home run, run scored and a pair of RBI in his Gulls debut.
DeLeon, a late addition to the lineup, got the start in left field after Kasey Coffman was scratched due to an injury and went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, run scored and a pair of RBI. DeLeon, a junior from Kansas, will split time with Jeff Melillo, who went 1-for-4 with a double against Mystic, behind the plate this summer.
The contest remained scoreless until the Schooners took a 1-0 lead on a two-out RBI single up the middle by second baseman Anthony Turgeon in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Newport second baseman Blake Butera reached base after he was hit by a pitch from Mystic reliever Alex Gouin, leading off the top of the eighth inning. Gouin, who served up the go-ahead home run to DeLeon with one out in the eighth, took the loss falling to 0-1 this season.
Wright, a junior right-hander from Arkansas State and one of five returning Gulls, pitched a gem in his first start of the summer, allowing just one run on seven hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts in seven innings of work. Wright threw 104 pitches, 57 of them for strikes.
Horacek, a junior southpaw from Dartmouth, came on in relief in the eighth inning and did not allow a base runner, retiring all six men he faced over the final two innings to pick up his first save as a Gull.
Newport will be back in action at home on Monday night taking on the Laconia Muskrats. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Cardines Field. Washington State freshman right-handed pitcher Tanner Chleborad will make his Gulls debut on the mound.
The game will be broadcast live on the NECBL Broadcast Network. Gulls play-by-play broadcaster Nick Lima will have the call of all the action along with Laconia broadcaster Casey Williams starting with the pre-game show at 6:05 p.m.
