MAINERS AND GULLS SUSPENDED IN FIFTH INNING, NEWPORT LEADS 8-1

SANFORD – Jonathan White had a two-run triple and the Newport Gulls had an 8-1 lead over the Sanford Mainers before thunderstorms hit Goodall Park and suspended Wednesday night’s NECBL game in the middle of the fifth inning. The game will be finished on July 15th at Cardines Field in Newport prior to that evening’s regularly scheduled contest between the Gulls and the Mainers.

Newport got things started early with four runs in the top of the first inning. Matt Vance led off with a single to right field, stole second and moved to third on a groundout to first base by Brandon May. Vance came in to score the first run of the game on an RBI groundout to third base by Brad French. The Gulls would do plenty more damage with two outs, as Drew Poulk singled back through the middle, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. He came in to score on a double to centerfield by Ryan Wiegand. After a walk to Matt Iannetta, Wiegand scored to make it 3-0 on a double to right field by Gabriel Saade. Iannetta would score an unearned run to extend the lead to 4-0 when Gerry Spessard reached on a fielding error by second baseman Kyle Meyer (Marist/Renssalaer, N.Y.).

The Gulls would tack on another run in the top of the second inning to make it 5-0. With two outs, French was hit by a pitch and then moved all the way to third base on an errant pick-off throw by Sanford starting pitcher Ryan Lapointe (George Washington/Somersworth, N.H.). French would score on an RBI, infield single off of Lapointe’s leg by Poulk.

The Mainers got on the board with a run in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Scott Guillerault (Wheaton/South Portland, Maine) singled to left field and moved to second on Chris Burleson’s (Southern Maine/Portland, Maine) groundout to shortstop. Bubba Ruddy (Cypress CC/Orange, Calif.) then lined an RBI single to centerfield to score Guillerault and cut the lead to 5-1.

Newport would score three more times in the top of the third inning to extend the lead to 8-1. Iannetta led off the inning with a single to left field and moved to third as Spessard hit a ground ball which first baseman Michael Gedman (Le Moyne/Framingham, Mass.) fielded and then threw into left field trying to force out Iannetta at second. Jonathan White would follow and plate both runners with a two-run triple to the gap in left-center field to make it 7-1. White would come in to score as well on an infield single to shortstop by Vance.

The score remained at 8-1 through the top half of the fifth inning. As the Gulls took the field for the bottom half of the fifth inning, the umpiring crew of Kevin Joyce and Ed McDonough spotted lightning off the first base side at Goodall Park and halted the game. After a delay of approximately one half-hour, it was determined the game would be unable to be finished and the decision was made to suspend the game until July 15.

Lapointe started on the mound for Sanford, pitched only three innings and is in line to take the loss if the Mainers do not rally on July 15. He gave up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits, walked one, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out two.

Will Stroup started on the mound for Newport and threw all four innings that were played on Wednesday night. He gave up one run on four hits, walked nobody and recorded no strikeouts.

The Mainers return to action on Thursday, June 28 when they visit the North Adams SteepleCats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Mass. Matt Janik and Geoff Brault will have all the action at http://www.sanfordmainers.com.

A complete box score of tonight’s game will be available via http://www.necbl.com.

Founded in 2002, the Sanford Mainers are a non-profit organization and the premier collegiate baseball team in the state of Maine, playing their home games at historic Goodall Park. A proud member of the NECBL, the Mainers annually aid in progressing the careers of the future stars of professional baseball, in addition to bringing top-notch collegiate baseball to the Sanford area. For more information visit http://www.sanfordmainers.com or call the Mainers front office at (207) 324-0010.