NEWS & MEDIA

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                  Contact: Chuck Paiva 

June 14, 2024                                                                                                                                President & General Manager

                                                                                                                                                  401-845-6832// gm@newportgulls.com

 

    HARTFORD, VT – An impressive offensive display led the Newport Gulls to an 8-4 win over the Upper Valley Nighthawks in a rare Friday night road game for the Gulls. Friday’s win was Newport’s fourth in a row to improve to 5-3.

 

    Matt Brown started on the mound for the Nighthawks and first ran into some trouble in the second inning. After Jake Burley (Wake Forest) was hit by a pitch, he was ultimately driven home thanks to a double from Matt Ossenfort (Vanderbilt). After Ossenfort advanced to third on a flyout, a wild pitch allowed him to come home and double Newport’s lead.

 

    The third inning resulted in even more success for the Gulls offensively. Nolan Stevens (Mississippi State) started a hot streak of hitting from Newport with a one-out double. Brody Szako (Austin Peay) followed that up with a single to put runners on the corners. Luke Orbon (St. John’s) joined in on the party with a double to score Stevens and move Szako to third. A fourth straight hit would come courtesy of Tyler Hare (Wofford) to clear the bases and give the Gulls a 5-0 lead. Newport added one more in the third as a groundout by Ossenfort brought Hare home from third. 

 

    Cole Cheatham (Mississippi State) was Newport’s starting pitcher after appearing out of the bullpen against Bristol five days ago. The southpaw’s only bump in the road came in the third inning when Gherig Frei got on base on a hit by pitch and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice that put Chris Baillargeon on base. He also made his way around the bases and came home from second on a single from Jacob Keys to make it 6-2 Newport.

 

    Both starters were done after three innings as Nick Tamburro entered for the Nighthawks while Drew DeLucia (Franklin Pierce) came in for the Gulls. Brown allowed six hits and six runs with no walks and two strikeouts while Cheatham conceded three hits and two runs (none earned) with four walks and five strikeouts.

 

    Niko Brini (UConn) led off the fourth with a single and later came home to score on another single by Luke Orbon (St. John’s) to put the Gulls up 7-2.

 

    The Nighthawks managed to stay within reach in the fifth inning after Chris Baillargeon and Ethan Lizama notched back-to-back doubles to set the tone and score a run. A few batters later, a Michael Ballard single sent Lizama across home to close in on Newport’s lead and make it 7-4.

 

    The sixth inning saw the Gulls answer right back. Garrett Staton (Alabama) delivered a single and Nolan Stevens backed that up with an RBI triple to give Newport an 8-4 lead. 

 

    Michal Kovala (Georgia Tech) entered in the sixth for his second appearance on the mound this summer. The righty tossed two shutout innings, allowing just two hits while recording two walks and two strikeouts. 

 

    Frank Ciccone replaced Tamburro in the eighth inning for the Nighthawks and didn’t concede a hit in the final two frames but Upper Valley’s offense couldn’t put together a rally against Newport’s bullpen. Ty Starke (Louisville) came in for the final two innings, making his third appearance for Newport. The lefty dominated down the stretch and didn’t allow a hit with two walks and three strikeouts to secure the victory.

 

    The Gulls outhit the Nighthawks 11-9 with production throughout the lineup. Eight of Newport’s nine starters tallied a hit as Newport won its fourth straight game. The result snapped a three-game win streak for the Nighthawks who are now 4-2. The Gulls have gone from 1-3 to 5-3 and aim to carry momentum into Saturday’s contest at the Waves in Game 2 of this season’s Pell Bridge Series. First pitch between Newport and Ocean State is slated for 6:30.