Dukes
and Gulls meet in NECBL Semifinals
by: Michael Radomski
( MANCHESTER, Conn.) – With a 9-3 win at Manchester this evening,
the Newport Gulls have advanced to the NECBL Semifinals to play the
Pittsfield Dukes in a best of three series.
The six run victory for the Gulls completes a two game sweep of the
Silkworms and puts Newport in the semifinals for the 9th time in
franchise history. The Gulls will take on the Pittsfield Dukes who
swept the North Adams SteepleCats on Sunday night 7-2 at Joe Wolfe
Field. The Dukes are making their first playoff appearance in the
NECBL and will play at Cardines Field in Newport on Tuesday night.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35.
Alex MacKenzie (Canisius) is the probable starter for Pittsfield.
MacKenzie is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and two complete games this season.
He will be opposed by Geoff Brown (Univ of Washington) who is 4-2 on
the season with a 2.23 earned run average for the Gulls.
The two teams have met six times this season with Newport winning
four of the games in the series. The last meeting came on July 31st
in the regular season finale for first place. The two teams battled
into the 11th inning and Newport escaped with the 2-1 win.
Game two of the playoff series will be at Wahconah Park in
Pittsfield on Wednesday beginning at seven o’clock. Tickets are
still available and can be purchased at the Dukes box office at 105
Wahconah Street or by calling 413 447 DUKES (3853).
Fans can listen to the game to and all Pittsfield Dukes games on the
NECBL Broadcast Network by going to the site at http://www.teamline.cc/sportpage?teamcode=6301&eventcode=5
Pittsfield fans can also tune into Whoopee in the Morning with
Sherman Baldwin on Wednesday morning at 8:08 for updated news on the
Dukes and their playoff pursuit for the championship. Tune into WUPE
on Wednesday morning on 100.1 FM/ 1110 AM for a preview of game one,
and log onto pittsfielddukes.com for more information on the team.
