The North Adams SteepleCats came up short yesterday in their bid for a second win in three games, falling 5-1 to the Newport Gulls.

Despite the loss, the ‘Cats were able to keep it close throughout the game and fought until the end. The pitching in particular was very impressive throughout, as they attacked the zone consistently and kept a Newport offense stacked with Power 5 bats for large stretches of thegame. Ultimately, though, it was not enough to get the win as the ‘Cats dropped to 1-8.

Newport got the scoring started early, as they were able to scratch two runs across the plate in the top of the 1st. Peter Mershon (Mississippi State) grounded out with the bases loaded, scoring Devan Zirwas (Eastern Michigan), and then Cole Johnson (Austin Peay) hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Caeden Cloud (Kentucky). However, Tyler Tedeschi (NYU) was able to enter the game and prevent any further damage from taking place, helping the ‘Cats avoid the big inning that has plagued them in the early going of the season.

After a couple of quiet innings, the ‘Cats were able to claw one back in the bottom of the 4th. Evan Meier (Mount St. Mary’s) doubled down the left field line, and with one out, Nelphie Lopez (Portal) was able to single him in. The inning would end quickly after that, but with just a one run deficit, the ‘Cats had some hope heading into the later stages of the game.

Unfortunately, a win was not to be for North Adams on this occasion, as Newport would score runs in the 5th (Cade Brown (Georgia Tech) scoring on a wild pitch), 6th (Johnson scoring on a wild pitch), and 7th (Brown scoring on an RBI single from Mershon) to put the game out of reach. Despite threatening on several occasions, the SteepleCats couldn’t quite find the key hit to push more runs across the plate.

In particular, Tedeschi, Brady Burgess (Middle Georgia State), and Parker Guthrie (Washington U) stood out for the ‘Cats, combining for 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball out of the bullpen. They pitched extremely well for North Adams when the team needed them most, keeping hitters uncomfortable and getting crucial outs when needed, helping to keep the game close and give the offense a chance to take the lead.

On the offensive side, Nelphie Lopez, Evan Meier, and Tony Woodie stood out, swinging the shillelagh to great effect and putting themselves in position to score and giving the team a lift on a night when offense was at a premium. Them (and others) continued to show great signs, with the team certainly improving and showing that they have made the adjustment to wood bats just in time for the season to really get into swing.

Next up, the ‘Cats return to Joe Wolfe Field for a matchup with the Ocean State Waves, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. They then hit the road to face the Mystic Schooners, with that game starting at 4 p.m.