Mountaineers win Game 1
of NECBL Championship, 14-8 over the Gulls
NEWPORT, R.I. – The Vermont Mountaineers captured Game One
of the NECBL Championship Series with a 14-8 win over the
Newport Gulls.
The Mountaineers were off to a hot start in the first inning
with three straight hits to begin the game. A.J. Pollock's
(Notre Dame) single under the glove of the shortstop scored
Curt Smith ( Maine) from second base to break the scoreless
tie. Pollock later scored on the sacrifice groundout by Matt
Prokopowicz (Hofstra).
In the bottom half of the first inning, Ryan Weigand put the
Gulls on the board with a bloop single that dropped between
four Mountaineers in shallow centerfield, allowing Brandon
May to score from third base.
Smith hit a solo run to lead off the third inning to get
back the Mountaineers' two-run lead. He had previously hit a
game-winning home run Monday night against the Holyoke
Giants to send the Mountaineers into the NECBL Championship
Finals.
The game broke open in the fourth inning when the
Mountaineers loaded the bases to start the inning. Kyle
Massie (Vermont) hit a line drive into leftfield to score
Chad Durakis ( Maryland). Lanny Stanfield (William and Mary)
then smacked a ball down the leftfield line for a double to
score Robbie Nickle (William and Mary).
After Smith was intentionally walked to load the bases,
Pollock hit a potential double play ball that was booted by
the third baseman Brandon May, allowing Massie to score.
Mike Sheridan (William and Mary) then hit a single up the
middle to score Stanfield and cap a four-run fourth.
In the fifth inning, the Mountaineers again loaded the bases
with nobody out for Massie, who hit a ground ball towards
short into leftfield that eluded the leftfielder Drew Poulk
and rolled to the fence, allowing three runs to score.
Shaun Hagey (Rhode Island) hit his first homerun of the
summer over the right-center field fence to lead off the
seventh inning. The Mountaineers then loaded the bases again
with nobody out as pinch hitter Matt Wulfers (SE Missouri
State) stepped up to the plate. Wulfers hit a ball to
rightfield, allowing Billy Cather ( Maine) to score. Pollock
singled home Massie on the next pitch and Sheridan scored
Stanfield on a sacrifice groundout to short, giving the
Mountaineers a 14-1 lead.
Poulk hit the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh over
the centerfield fence to cut the Mountaineers' lead to 12.
Alex Curry (Cypress) left the game after seven strong
innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out
seven.
There was a scary moment in the eighth inning when Cather
collided with Hagey in shallow right-center field and Cather
appeared to injure his left shoulder, causing him to be
taken out of the game. The Gulls captured three runs in each
of the eighth and ninth innings to finish the scoring.
Curry (2-0) earned the win for the Mountaineers while Adam
Wilk (0-1) was saddled with the loss.
The Mountaineers return home to Montpelier in with a chance
to capture back-to-back NECBL Championships in front of
their hometown fans. The first pitch between the
Mountaineers and the Gulls will be at 6:30 p.m. Tune into
the action in Central Vermont on ESPN 1240 WSKI with Kyle
Dorau and Chris Fells, or online at www.teamline.cc with
Paul Roper and Nick Lima.
