Ocean State Snaps 2-Game Skid with 11-5 Win in Newport
By Jonah Karp
NEWPORT, RI—With the Waves getting two days of rest, and five of the previous seven days off, the team was itching for a victory against their Pell Bridge rival Newport Gulls. Ocean State (10-7) got just that, taking down Newport (10-8) 11-5 on Friday.
This was a game divided into thirds. The first three innings went to the Gulls. Vito Morgese struggled out of the gate for the Waves. Ocean State got on the board first with a Michael Turner single to score Quincy McAfee in the first.
That didn’t last long, as Cole Austin doubled home Kody Hoese in the bottom of the frame to knot the game at one apiece. Holden Powell locked in on the mound for the Gulls.
The Waves left three stranded in the second, and the Gulls took the lead on another RBI double. Ocean State left another runner on base in the third, and after a hit-by-pitch and a single Cole Austin cracked his league-leading sixth home run of the season to give Newport a 5-1 advantage without a recorded out in the third.
Vito Morgese’s night was over, exiting with an undisclosed injury. Steven Theetge was tasked with stopping the bleeding without the luxury of warming up in the bullpen. He managed to work around a one-out walk, retiring three of four batters to put the inning to bed.
With their starting pitcher gone and the team trailing by four on the road, Ocean State needed a big inning, and they got it. The Waves strung together four hits in the fourth, leading to three runs scored to get back within one.
Theetge kept the Gulls scoreless in the bottom of the frame for the first time in the game. Still trailing by one, the Waves’ bats were red-hot. Two walks, a single, an error and a wild pitch brought two more home for Ocean State to retake the lead 6-5.
And the team didn’t look back. That remained the score entering the ninth inning. Ocean State batted around in the top of the frame, scoring five runs on six hits, a walk, and an error. Garrett Hodges had the big exclamation point to begin the inning, with a loud two-run homer (his team-high third of the season) to put Ocean State up 8-5. Waves’ pitching didn’t allow another hit until the bottom of the ninth.
Ryan Ward broke out of his two-week slump going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk to pick his batting average back up to .290. Theetge, Deats, and Kelly combined for seven scoreless innings pitched out of the bullpen giving up just one hit and striking out 12.
The Waves are back in action Saturday when they host the Plymouth Pilgrims at 6:30.
