SANFORD — The third time proved to be the charm for the Newport Gulls. After twice losing to the Sanford Mainers in previous NECBL Championship Series, the Gulls finally came through to capture the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup, putting eight runs up in the sixth inning of an 8-5 victory in game two of the best-of-three series at Goodall Park on Tuesday.

Sanford starting pitcher Richard Vrana was on point through his first five innings of work, allowing just two hits and no runners past second base. But Vrana and the Mainers’ defense fell apart in the decisive sixth inning.

Vrana struck out Blaise Salter to lead off the frame, but Salter got the last laugh to cap it off with eight runs. Vrana gave up two doubles and a single in the inning, with Reed Gamache’s two-out double driving in the first three runs before a fielding error by shortstop Cory Raley drove in another, ending Vrana’s outing.

“You just try to square up balls. You square them up as best as you can,” Newport manager Mike Coombs said of how his team attacked Vrana. “The kid kept us off-balance, he’s was changing speeds. And finally, we got to him a little.”

Tyler Barss came in and gave up a double and a two-run grounder under first baseman Kendall Patrick’s glove. Salter then blasted a two-run home run to left to finish off the scoring.

Vrana’s final line was five runs (three earned) on six hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out four and walked two (one intentional).

“I don’t think Vrana fell apart at all. He’s been our guy all year, and we want to give him the chance to do it,” Mainers manager Aaron Izaryk said of Vrana. “A hit here or there, or a line drive at a guy or away from a guy, and then we might be all right. That’s baseball.”

The Mainers offense answered in the bottom of the frame, thanks to some help from the Newport defense. Gulls starting pitcher Jack Patterson gave up back-to-back one-out singles before hitting Patrick to load the bases. A single by Matt Pagano drove in one run, then another scored on an error by Gamache at third. After Drake Parker struck out looking, Sam Balzano hit a grounder to Gamache, whose throw to second for a force-out was off-target, allowing a third run to score. Two more runs came home on a bloop single by Sam Dexter down the first-base line.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Patterson on the mound, as he was relieved by Marc Huberman. The lefty reliever put an end to the bleeding, as he struck out Caden Bailey to end the inning.

Huberman kept that momentum going in the eighth, as he struck out the side.

“Huberman did a heck of a job,” said Coombs.

The Mainers had their chances against Patterson, who gave up 10 hits, but it was his seven strikeouts that did in the Sanford batters.

The Mainers put the first two runners on in the bottom of the first, but a safety squeeze bunt was played by Patterson, who flipped the ball back to catcher P.J. Jones in time to get Balzano out at the plate. Patterson then struck out Raley and Mike Rescigno to end the inning.

“Sammy was just out by a step. (The) pitcher made a great play,” Izaryk said of the safety squeeze. “It’s certainly a play we’ve used before, and it’s worked, so we’ll go back to it.”

The Mainers put together three-consecutive singles with one out in the third, but Patterson struck out back-to-back batters again to close out the frame.

“He was throwing his breaking ball for strikes, and then he’d throw it for strikeouts,” Izaryk said of Patterson.

The Mainers had one last gasp in the bottom of the ninth, as Huberman walked Dexter and Bailey to lead off the inning, but a fly out and consecutive strikeouts ended the game.

“It’s incredibly tough. We did what we always want to do late in the game ”“ bringing the tying run to the plate when you’re down. That’s what they’ve done all year, they’ve always given themselves a chance to get back on top,” said Izaryk. “It’s a tough night for us.

“These guys play hard for their fans, they play hard for each other. They understand how important it is for the city, and we certainly understand it as well.”

The announced attendance was 744 ”“ with a chunk of that being Gulls’ fans. The Mainers faithful was cheering right until the final out, when the Gulls finally closed out a championship against Sanford.

The Gulls won their sixth NECBL title, and the second in the last three seasons. This year’s victory not only erased Newport’s demons of losing two previous championship series to the Mainers, but also atoned for a runner-up finish one year ago.

“(Izaryk) told me on June 16, he said, ”˜Coach, I’ll see you in the finals,’” Coombs recalled about a conversation with Izaryk earlier this summer. “I guess he has a crystal ball.”

— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.