NEWPORT, R.I. – Brett Graves took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finished with 10 strikeouts over 62/3 innings to lead the Newport Gulls to an 11-4 win over the Sanford Mainers in the opening game of their best-of-three New England Collegiate Baseball League playoff series Sunday night.

Shea Donlin had a pair of hits and drove in four runs to pace a 10-hit attack for Newport.

Troy Black and Nic Wilson finished with two hits apiece for Sanford, which scored all its runs in the seventh after falling behind 10-0. Black drove in one run and Wilson scored once.

Sanford will host Game 2 of the Eastern Division semifinal series at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Goodall Park.

The Mainers qualified for the playoffs by winning a play-in game Saturday night, beating the Laconia Muskrats 4-2.

Nate LaPointe and Scott Heath broke a 2-2 tie with back-to-back RBI doubles in the bottom of the sixth. Travis Landry scattered three hits over three scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.

JUNIOR LEGION

BRUNO’S 4, FAIRFIELD 1: Nick DePalma finished with seven strikeouts while throwing a four-hitter as Bruno’s of Portland (17-6) eliminated Fairfield (18-4) from the state tournament at Hadlock Field.

With the score tied at 1-1, Owen Pence led off the top of the sixth with a double and scored on a triple by Ryan Ruhlin. DePalma and Marcus Cross-Robertson each added an RBI single later in the inning.

Ruhlin and DePalma finished with two hits apiece for Bruno’s.

Fairfield was paced by Spencer Folsom, who had a pair of hits, including a double.

Another elimination game between Bruno’s and South Portland was suspended after 4½ innings with South Portland leading 9-4.

That game will be completed at noon Monday at Wainwright Field in South Portland. The winner advances to the championship round against unbeaten Westbrook.

If Westbrook loses Monday, a second game will be played Tuesday at Wainwright.