WRIGHT STATE RAIDER READY FOR NECBL
Published By: Dave Peck
NEWPORT, R.I.- As a junior at Wright State University, Zach Weatherford brings veteran experience to Newport in the coming season. The six-foot-two, 195-pound outfielder hails from Englewood, OH, where he attended Northmont High School.
Weatherford is off to a strong start in 2018. Last weekend he faced off against future Gulls teammate Josh Bates and the Tulane University Green Wave. Despite losing the series, Weatherford batted .333 with two RBI and four hits including a double and home run. Weatherford and former 2016-17 Gull Gabe Snyder will face off against the University of Louisiana this weekend.
Weatherford is no stranger to collegiate summer baseball having played in both the Northwoods and Coastal Plains League. In 2016, he joined the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League where he collected 47 hits and 16 RBI. Last summer, Weatherford traveled to the Mid-Atlantic where he played for the Martinsville Mustangs in the Coastal Plain League, successful on 16 of his 18 steal attempts.
Since redshirting in 2015, Weatherford has played in almost every game for the Wright State Raiders. 2016, Weatherford’s redshirt freshman year, he played in 58 games including 18 starts in the outfield. During his sophomore campaign, Weatherford hit his stride as he started in all 59 games, tallying 53 hits and 48 runs while collecting 26 RBI. The Ohio native showed off his speed and smarts on the base paths as he ranked third among all Division I players in stolen bases during 2017 with 36.
The Gulls are excited to bring in Weatherford and his collegiate baseball experience to help lead Newport towards a seventh Fay Vincent Cup this summer.
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The Newport Gulls, members of the 13-team New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded as the Rhode Island Gulls in 1998 in Cranston, R.I., before moving to Newport in 2001. In addition to recruiting, fielding, and developing a team of the nation’s top collegiate baseball athletes and attracting 50,000 fans annually to Cardines Field, the predominantly volunteer organization strives to benefit the youth of Newport County via summer camps, reading programs, fundraisers, scholarships, and charitable donations – totaling over $1 million since 2001. The Gulls are six-time champions of the NECBL – the winningest franchise in league history – and were ranked as the overall No. 1 summer collegiate baseball team in the country by Perfect Game USA in 2012.
For more information about the Newport Gulls, visit facebook.com/newportgulls, follow the Gulls on Twitter @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.
