NEWPORT GULLS 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW
With the 2025 NECBL Year in Review series down to its final three editions, it’s time to take a look at the Newport Gulls' 2025 season.
Coming off back-to-back Fay Vincent Senior Cups, the Gulls posted another strong season, finishing first in the South with a 29-15 record. They defeated the Mystic Schooners two games to one in the first round of the playoffs, but ultimately lost to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks in game three of the South Division Finals.
The Gulls had a litany of award-winners. Finbar O’Brien was crowned as the Robin Roberts Best Starting Pitcher behind a stellar 1.06 ERA, while left-handed starter Leighton Harris won the Stephen Strasburg Top Pro Prospect Award after allowing two earned runs in 24 innings. Additionally, outfielder Matthew Bolton won Rookie of the Year, and shortstop Randy Seymour was crowned the league’s Most Improved Player.
Seymour, Bolton, O’Brien, and Harris all made the NECBL first team, as did designated hitter Michael Gupton.
With eight all-stars, Newport led the South Division. O’Brien, Seymour, Bolton, and Gupton all started the All-Star game, while Drew DeLucia was selected by Newport manager Mike Coombs, who managed the game. Harris, catcher Andreaus Lewis, and third baseman Colby Wallace all made the team as reserves.
Newport’s game of the year came on June 30 at Cardines Field, in a thriller versus the Upper Valley Nighthawks.
Despite playing at their home park, the Gulls were on the road in game one of this doubleheader. Newport wasted no time getting on the board, as left fielder Cade Brown scored Bolton on an RBI single to put the Gulls up 1-0 in the first.
After a smooth first inning from Gulls’ starter Aidan Coleman, he ran into some trouble in the second. A hit by pitch and a double set the Nighthawks up with two runners in scoring position with one out, and catcher Cameron Boardman displayed situational hitting, managing an RBI groundout to tie the game 1-1.
The third inning would see multiple runs from both sides. After drawing his second walk in as many plate appearances, Bolton scored on back-to-back singles by Brown and designated hitter AJ Evasco. Then, with Gupton at the plate, Nighthawks starter JT Guerrero would throw a wild pitch, allowing Brown to score, giving Newport a 3-1 lead.
Just like the second inning, the Nighthawks managed to put runners on second and third to open the bottom of the third on a hit by pitch and a double. Designated hitter Nick Shuhet followed with an RBI single, and right fielder Anthony Greco hit a sac fly to tie the game up 3-3. Later in the frame, with the bases loaded and two outs, Boardman drew an RBI walk to put the Nighthawks ahead 4-3.
Upper Valley tacked on an insurance run in the fourth inning, as Shuhet hit his second RBI single in two innings.
The Gulls would find their stride again offensively in the fifth, as Brown and Evasco hit back-to-back doubles to cut the Upper Valley lead to 5-4.
With the game on the line in the top of the seventh, Newport had runners on the corners and one out for Evasco, who came through with his third hit and RBI on the day, a single to tie the game 5-5. The Gulls managed to load the bases back up, but Nighthawks reliever Aaron Potter stopped the bleeding with the game still tied.
After a scoreless bottom of the seventh from Matthew Kulik, the Gulls' offense had a chance to claim the lead in extra innings. Newport claimed the lead on one big swing from the leadoff man, Bolton, who slugged a three-run home run to put Newport up 8-5.
However, the Nighthawks wouldn’t go away quietly. With two on and one out, Shuhet lined a double which scored two runs, marking his third and fourth RBI of the contest. Newport was on the doorstep of a hard-fought victory with two outs in the inning, but a wild pitch from Kulik scored the tying run from third. Eight innings wouldn’t be enough to settle this back-and-forth affair.
With one out and the tying run in scoring position in the ninth, Seymour came through with his second hit of the day, an RBI single to put the Gulls ahead 9-8. This was all Newport needed for victory, as CJ Bott tossed a hitless bottom of the ninth, securing the Gulls' victory.
Bolton accounted for six of Newport’s nine runs, driving in three runs and scoring four runs, including the go-ahead three-run homer he hit in the eighth. The future NECBL rookie of the year drew three walks and stole a base, going 1/2 on the day. Upper Valley pitching managed to strike out 16 Gulls hitters, but that wouldn’t be enough to slow down the South Division’s number one seed, who managed nine runs on 10 hits.
Stay tuned for the next iteration of the 2025 NECBL year in review series, releasing Thursday, May 21.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 240 alumni to the Major Leagues, with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
