Newport, R.I. – The Newport Gulls have clinched the Coastal Division for the second consecutive season after they beat the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, 7-5 in game two of a doubleheader. The Gulls currently lead by five games over the Mystic Schooners with just four games left to play for the Gulls and five for the Schooners. With the win, Newport has clinched at least the #3 overall seed in the NECBL playoffs and will look to clinch the #1 overall seed later in the week.
The story of the season for the Gulls has been the lights out pitching, led by their three all-stars, Santhosh Gottam (Brown University), Jake Hunter (East Carolina University) and Kevin Seitter (Quinnipiac University). Gottam started for the East in the 2023 NECBL all-star game and has an ERA of 2.36. Hunter currently boasts a record of 4-1 and has an ERA of 1.12. Seitter has been the Friday night starter for Newport all season and leads the team in innings pitched with 39.2 and strikeouts with 47.
Offensively, 2023 NECBL all-star Tyler Hare (Georgia Tech) has been the leading catalyst for the Gulls. He currently is tied for first in the league with nine home runs and his .291 batting average and 25 RBIs are first on the team. Another 2023 all-star, Matthew Schark (University of Southern Illinois) is second on the team in RBIs and has a .273 batting average with an OPS of .890.
Newport’s next game will be Wednesday July 26th when they take on the Mystic Schooners at historic Cardines Field for a doubleheader starting at 3:00. All games are broadcasted live on the NECBL Broadcast Network.
