NEWPORT, NH- Newport baseball lost to White Mountains on Friday evening 5-3 in their second game of the season, falling to 1-1. Tigers’ coach Jon Hamel, on the loss said, “We could have used more timely-hitting… we left too many runners on base, but overall, I am proud of this team’s heart. They really rallied around each other. Last year’s team would not have stayed in the game like this group did.”
Newport let up one run in the first inning and two in the second, and quickly found themselves in a 3-0 hole early. In the second inning, the Tigers got sloppy with the ball and allowed their mistakes to turn into two runs for White Mountains. Coach Hamel said, “Looking back… if we hadn’t threw the ball around in that second inning, we would have been right in the game at the end and it probably would’ve went to extras. That was the difference in the game.”
Newport struck back in the fourth inning, however, scoring three times and knotting the game at three runs apiece. Daniel Lee had a big 2 RBI-single to right-center in the inning. With the scored still tied in the fifth, the Tigers had a chance to strike again. With runners on first and second and no outs, there was a bit of a base running blunder. A pop up was caught in the outfield and hauled back to second to get a double-play. Instead of having two on and only one out, it turned into just one on and two outs. Coach Hamel, on the double-play, said “That kind of stalled our momentum.”
White Mountains would score a run in the sixth and a run in the seventh to put the game away. “Last year when we faced [White Mountains], we lost 19-1,” said coach Hamel, “that was definitely our worst game of the season… This year’s White Mountains team is still well-coached… they have power-hitters, they’re scrappy, they can play small-ball, and they have lefties… which are a luxury. That being said, I am proud of our team… they played phenomenal. We just left too many runners on base… which was devastating to our game. But, we rallied together and I am proud of the heart and dedication that my kids showed.”
Newport drew 12 walks on Friday, but left 10 runners on base, including twice with the bases loaded. Login Barry pitched all seven innings for the Tigers, striking out seven and giving up four hits and four walks. Freshman Bryce Willey, in his first start, got one of three Newport hits on the day and walked three times. Lee and Barry had the other two hits for Newport.
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