DANBURY, CT—The #4 Danbury Westerners advanced to the NECBL Southern Division Semifinals after a 6-1 win over the #5 Newport Gulls in Rogers Park.
Danbury pitching forced grounders frequently against Gulls hitters, who had fourteen total ground outs over the course of the game. Kyle Roche worked his longest start of the season after seven innings of one run ball in a winning decision.
After both teams had innings ended with a runner on third and two outs, Newport got on the board first in the top of the fourth inning with a bloop single to center field from Conor Kiely that dropped over Banks Griffith and Sebastian Murillo in shallow center.
Murillo responded in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to right field to tie the game at one apiece.
Danbury took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Cam Masterman came around to score on an infield error from Newport. Andrew Jenkins, who reached base on the error, came around to score on a single from Nick Lorusso to make the score 3-1 Westerners.
Cam Masterman added to Danbury’s run total in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI triple to the right center field gap to bring home Justin Jordan. Andrew Jenkins followed by demolishing a baseball to left field on a two run home run to give Danbury a 6-1 lead, which Danbury held on to after three combined innings of relief from Ethan Clough and Coleman Picard. The win gave Danbury a perfect 8-0 sweep against the Newport Gulls during the 2021 NECBL Regular Season and Playoffs.
The Westerners also got their first playoff win since August 4, 2016, which was a 10-8 victory at home also against the Newport Gulls.
The Westerners will travel to Holyoke Wednesday to start the NECBL Southern Division Semifinals against the #2 seeded Valley Blue Sox in Mackenzie Stadium after the Blue Sox blanked the #7 Bristol Blues 5-0. The game will be livestreamed on the NECBL Network.
D