Gulls Grab a Win on Friday Night

Newport hosted a Star Wars themed night, as the Danbury Westerners traveled east to face the Gulls in a Southern Division matchup.

The scoring started in the bottom of the 2nd inning, as Brandon Larson (USC)  knocked a solo shot to right center field. Larson’s first homer of the year came in his first start as a Gull, and only his second plate appearance of the season. The distance was measured as 412 feet, making it the longest home run this season in the NECBL.

After two scoreless innings for Gulls starting pitcher, Maddox Miller (Mississippi State), the Westerners took an early lead when Aidan Stern (Trinity) scored on a wild pitch, and shortly after, Ronan Donohue (Sacred Heart) drove in his brother, Gavin Donohue  on a 3rd inning single. 

Newport responded quickly, with a demoralizing 5-run bottom half of the 3rd. Cade Brown (UCF) started the big inning with an RBI single, scoring Gus Gandy (Samford). Tristan Salinas (Rutgers) scored on a throwing error, and Peter Marshon (Mississippi State) broke it open with a 3-run blast to right center field. After blowing the early lead in the top half of the 3rd, the Gulls finished the 3rd inning with a 6-2 lead. Brown continued his night with a 2-RBI double in the following inning, scoring Gandy and Salinas. 

Gavin Donohue continued his productive night with an RBI single, scoring Noel Rivera. Kyle Garbowski followed suit with a sacrifice fly, scoring Stern. These two were the only two runs allowed by Gulls reliever Parker Rhodes (Mississippi State). Rhodes was credited as the winning pitcher in tonight’s matchup.

A hit batsman scored Mason Ligenza (Pittsburgh) in the 5th, followed by Gus Gandy scoring on a wild pitch. This would be all for Newport’s 10-run offensive clinic. Collin Mowry and Peter Link hit a pair of solo homers in the top of the 8th.

Zane Stahl (Louisville) retired the top half of the 9th inning, giving the Gulls a 10-6 win, and rewarding Newport with their first Friday night win of the 2026 campaign. 

Newport will be on the road tomorrow as they take on the Valley Blue Sox at MacKenzie Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm