The Wareham Gatemen dropped their first and only preseason game on Sunday to the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League 10-3, in Newport.

“I didn’t anticipate this,” said Head Coach Cooper Farris, noting that Gatemen pitchers had walked 11 batters overall, with seven of those runners going on to score.

One bright spot for the Gatemen was infielder Willie Calhoun (University of Arizona) who hit a solo home run in the 5th inning and added a double in the 3rd inning.

“It felt good,” said Calhoun, who didn’t have a home run in his entire first season at Arizona. “I kinda just sat on a slider, and I hit a home run.”

Calhoun said he preferred wooden bats, which are used in the Cape League, to aluminum, which the players use in college ball.

“It’s still a big adjustment,” he said.

The two teams meet annually for a preseason game prior to their respective seasons.

Farris said he and the Gatemen will try to work on some of their mistakes over the next two practices prior to the team’s first regular season game on Wednesday at Bourne vs. the Braves at 6 p.m.

“Monday and Tuesday are going to be two big work days for us, and hopefully we’ll be a little bit better on Wednesday.”

He cited inexperience as a reason for the loss, but said he thought a lot of their mistakes could be corrected.

“I attribute it to nerves. A lot of things happened tonight that are fixable or correctable,” he said. “They took some big swings out there. They’re kids. They’re trying to put on a show.”