YECKER FANS 11, GULLS DOWN MAINERS 8-4

NEWPORT, R.I. – Starting pitcher Jared Yecker dazzled a crowd of 1,231 at Cardines Field on Sunday night, striking out 11 over 6.2 innings of one-run ball to lead the Newport Gulls to an 8-4 victory over the Sanford Mainers in NECBL action. Brandon May, Matt Vance and Drew Poulk each drove in two runs, with Poulk hitting a solo home run to lead the way for the Newport (18-10) offense. Brian Kemp led the Mainers (12-19) offensively, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the loss. Combined with the 12-2 win earlier in the afternoon in a game resumed from June 27, the Gulls’ win gave them a sweep of the two-game series against the Mainers.

The Gulls got the scoring started with a run in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Drew Poulk hit a solo home run to left field, his second of the season to give Newport a 1-0 lead.

Newport extended the lead to 5-0 with four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Gabriel Saade led off the inning with a double to the left-field corner. After a walk to Michael Burgher, Brandon May moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. May ended up on first himself to load the bases with nobody out when first baseman Tim Kalczynski (Michigan/Farmington Hills, Mich.) opted to try to cut down the lead runner at third base. However, his throw was not in time to force out Saade. Matt Vance followed with a single back through the middle to plate Burgher and May and extend the lead to 3-0. After a wild pitch moved runners to second and third base, Ryan Wiegand hit a single through the left side to drive in May and move Vance to third base. Vance would then score when Poulk picked up his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Gulls would strike again in the bottom of the fourth inning for three more runs. Matt Iannetta led off with a single through the right side and moved to second on Zach Zaneski’s single to left field. Saade followed and attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt but reached on a fielder’s choice as Iannetta was forced out at third base. Zaneski would score and Saade would move to third base on a double down the right field line by Burgher which extended the lead to 6-0 and chased Sanford starter Ryan Lapointe (George Washington/Somersworth, N.H.) from the ballgame. Brett Carnline (Wharton County JC/Conroe, Texas) entered in relief to face May. May greeted him with a two-run double down the right field line to score both Saade and Burgher and extend the Newport lead to 8-0.

The Mainers got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Kalczynski led off with a walk and moved to second on a groundout to second base by Jeff Helps (Central Michigan/Wyoming, Ontario). Helps scored Sanford’s first run of the game when Brian Kemp (St. John’s/East Rockaway, N.Y.) followed with an RBI single up the middle.

Sanford cut the deficit to 8-4 with three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Tim Keene (Massachusetts Lowell/Berlin, N.H.) led off the inning with a double off the top of the fence in right-center field. He came in to score when Tyler Stovall (Central Michigan/Cincinnati, Ohio) followed with a double into the right-field corner. Stovall moved to third on an infield single to third base by Jeff Grantham (St. John’s/Randolph, N.J.) and then scored to cut the Newport lead to 8-3 when Scott Guillerault (Wheaton/South Portland, Maine) also picked up an infield single on a ground ball to the third-base side which moved Grantham to second. Helps then bounced into a fielder’s choice which saw Guillerault erased at second base but moved Grantham to third to put runners at the corners with two outs. Kemp followed with his second RBI of the day on a single through the right side to score Grantham.

Lapointe started and took the loss (2-3) on the mound for Sanford. In 3.1 innings of work, he gave up eight runs on eight hits, walked one and struck out one.

Jared Yecker started on the hill and earned the victory (3-1) for Newport. Over 6.2 innings, he gave up one run on five hits, walked three and struck out 11.

The Mainers return to action on Tuesday, July 17 when they visit the Manchester Silkworms. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Northwest Park in Manchester, Conn. Matt Janik, Russell Luna and Merrill Meyers 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.