'Cats Fall in Road Finale
NEWPORT, R.I. — The Newport Gulls scored in each of the first four innings en route to beating the North Adams (Mass.) SteepleCats 8-4 on Tuesday night.North Adams worked a two-out rally in the first inning in the team's last away game as Jonny Smith walked followed by a Cody Stanley single. After Stanley stole second, Ryan Delgado squared a single back through the middle, scoring both baserunners for a 2-0 SteepleCats lead.
The Gulls would jump right back in the bottom of the inning as Tim Norton struggled with command before allowing a two-RBI single to Alex Gregory to tie the game at 2-2. The Gulls would extend the lead in the second on an RBI groundout by Mike Melillo to make it 3-2 Newport.
The Gulls were not done there as a couple of walks in the third and a sacrifice set up second and third with one out before David Cunningham drove his first homerun of the season to left for 6-2 Newport edge. Two more runs came in during the bottom of the fourth on a Kyle Conley homerun for an 8-2 lead.
North Adams got a run back in the fifth as Ryan Semeniuk led off the inning with a single and stole second. Two batters later, Jonny Smith singled to score Semeniuk, cutting the lead to 8-3. Mike Donato and John Malloy would each double in the ninth to cut the final score to 8-4.
Greg Holle (2-2) picked up the win going six innings. Tim Norton (0-4) took the loss for North Adams. Dan Mahoney notched his seventh save of the year.
The North Adams SteepleCats will be back home to celebrate Hometown Heroes Night and honor those who work for police, fire, and emergency services on Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.
They will take on the Pittsfield Dukes at Joe Wolfe Field in the final installment of the 2008 Battle of the Berkshires. The first game starts at 4 p.m. with the gates opening an hour earlier. At 6 p.m., public safety officials from all over Northern Berkshire County will join the SteepleCats to showcase their vehicles and high-tech devices.
