NEWS

NEWPORT, R.I.- February 16- 18 marked the first weekend of play for NCAA Division I. Many former and future Gulls made an impact for their teams across the country.

 

2017 Gulls Jonathan Heasley (Oklahoma St.) and Drake Fellows (Vanderbilt) got the nod for their squads on Opening Night, as did 2016 Gulls Adam Wolf (Louisville) and Jackson Goddard (Kansas). Heasley picked up the win as his Cowboys beat the Bobcats of Texas State 6-2 on Friday night. The sophomore righty threw six scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing four hits. Drake gave up the only run Duke would get in a 9-1 victory at Vanderbilt’s Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The Blue Devils struck out four times against Fellows and would only get one hit over his four innings of work. Wolf and Goddard both pitched five innings that included seven strikeouts in their team’s victories. Wolf kept the Richmond Spiders scoreless on three hits while Goddard gave up six hits and two runs.

 

Two pitchers that returned for a second season in Newport, Matt Murphy (URI) and Jack Patterson (Bryant) did all they could when their teams traveled to nationally ranked competitors this weekend. Matt and the Rams took on the #9 ranked Aggies of Texas A&M, while Patterson’s Bulldogs battled the #36 ranked Wildcats of Arizona. The pair of college seniors both threw Saturday. Jack went five innings, surrendering two earned runs while Matt limited the Aggies to one run through six innings of work.

 

As great as these Gull pitchers were, the show was stolen by Murphy’s 2016 & 2017 teammate Jake Brodt (Santa Clara). Brodt became the seventh player in Division I history to hit two grand slams in one inning and the first since 2000! Brodt finished Saturday’s 20-9 win over Boston College with a total of 10 RBI, including a third home run. Brodt finished the three-game weekend set with a batting average of .462. His 10 RBI are good for second-most in the country and his three home runs tie him for first among all Division I hitters.

 

 

 

 

Kameron Misner (Missouri) edged Brodt’s batting average, hitting an even .500 on the weekend when the Tigers visited Florida International University. Misner walked nine times in the series which is the most in the nation. Dominic DeRenzo (Oklahoma) played with Misner this past summer and finds himself fourth on that list after he was given seven free passes. In addition to reaching base via a walk, Misner had four hits, all of which for extra bases (one double, one triple, two home runs). Future Gull and current Tiger, Chris Cornelius (Missouri) picked up three hits this weekend and 2016 Gull Trey Harris (Missouri) had six.

 

A plethora of Newport Gulls alumni and one 2018 roster signee were pivotal in Stanford's sweep of in-state rival Cal State Fullerton. Tim Tawa (Stanford) will patrol Cardines’ outfield this upcoming summer and got his first taste of college baseball this weekend, starting for the Cardinal as a true freshman. He pushed across Stanford’s first run of the season with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning on Friday night, ending the weekend with four hits in 11 at-bats. Andrew Daschbach (Stanford), a 2017 NECBL All-Star, had three hits in 10 at-bats and his 2017 Gull teammate Jack Little (Stanford) made two relief appearances in which he didn’t allow a run in just over three innings of work. Preseason All-American Kris Bubic (Stanford) got his first win of 2018, permitting one run and only three hits. Bubic was a member of Newport’s 2016 roster.

 

Zach Weatherford (Wright State) is set to join the Gulls in 2018. Weatherford and 2016’s NECBL Home Run Derby Champ Gabe Snyder (Wright State) each recorded three hits when the Raiders took on Tulane University. One of Weatherford’s knocks landed over the fence for his first home run of the season. Nick Derr (Florida St.), a 2017 Gull, hit his first home run of the new season, as did the 2016 NECBL league-leader for home runs Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt).

 

In addition to the players listed, the Newport Gulls were pleased with all of their former and future players performances and are excited to see these student-athletes grow as the season persists. Keep up to date with everything Gulls via NewportGulls.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@NewportGulls).

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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation’s top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the youth of Newport County via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are six-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.

 

For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.