NEWS

NEWPORT, R.I. – The Newport Gulls begin their 22-game home schedule on Wednesday, June 8th against the  Mystic Schooners at Cardines Field at 6:35 pm. 
The Gulls officially open their 2022 campaign in Montpelier, Vt. at Montpelier Recreation Field against the  Vermont Mountaineers at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, June 7th. Newport will play home games on Monday,  Wednesday, Friday, through the end of July including one Saturday game on the 23rd of July against Mitchell  Holmes and his Mountaineers. 
This season the NECBL moves to a three-division format that includes the Coastal, North and West Divisions.  Newport resides in the Coastal Division which includes five total teams located on the eastern side of New  England. The Gulls will play two division opponents seven times, and the other two on six occasions during the  regular season. Outside of division, Newport faces those opponents twice apiece. It is the first time since the  league’s founding in 1993. The playoffs will now include six teams, the three division winners, and three  wildcard teams who possess the next highest winning percentages in all divisions. 
The regular season will conclude against the Ocean State Waves in the confines of Cardines Field with the 2022  NECBL playoffs kicking off on August 1st. The postseason will run through mid-August with the last possible  day on August 13th. All home games this season will begin at 6:35 pm as the scheduled first pitch, and the  opening of the gates at 5 pm. 
Rhode Island’s Secretary of State, Nellie Gorbea, will be on-hand to throw out the first pitch for the opening  night of the season. The first 1,000 people in attendance on June 8th will receive a 2022 Magnet Schedule,  courtesy of Aquidneck Pizza. The tickets go on sale for the University Orthopedics home-opener at 5 pm at the  Cardines Field Ticket Office. The tickets are $5 for adults, $2 for seniors, teens 13-18 and military; and $1 for  children 12 and under. Reduced rate parking is offered at Gateway Center just down the road on America's Cup  Ave with the gameday ticket stub. 
For the second home contest of the season, Newport Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano and City Council will be  in attendance when Newport takes on the Valley Blue Sox of the West Division. Last season, the Gulls split  their season series 3-3 as the clubs were limited to contests with teams in the boundaries of their own division. 
Several special theme nights throughout the season include Friday, June 24th which is Red Sox Foundation 20th  Anniversary Night. The following Friday night, July 1st is Aspire Dermatology Red Sox Night where the first  300 people through the gate will receive a free Koozie courtesy of Aspire Dermatology. Both the Red Sox, and  PawSox Mascots will be in attendance for a night that will be no doubt filled with family fun as the Gulls take  on their Rhode Island counterpart, the Ocean State Waves. 
July 23-July 24 is Gulls Alumni Weekend. The festivities begin on Saturday as Newport will battle Vermont at  Cardines Field the day before the NECBL All-Star Game which will be hosted by the Marthas Vineyard Sharks  at The Shark Tank for the first time in its history. 
For more information on promotional events, check out the promotional calendar by visiting  www.newportgulls.com under the schedule tap. 
Wednesday’s Opening Night game will also be broadcast live by Gulls play-by-play broadcaster Zach Letson,  on the NECBL Broadcast Network via www.newportgulls.com via the NECBL’s streaming partner Blue Frame,  with extended pregame show coverage beginning at 6:10 p.m. In the second season of the partnership with Cox  Cable’s YurView Channel, all Friday broadcasts will be simulcasted live on YurView New England starting at  6:30 p.m. The games will also be rebroadcast on EBTV-18 throughout the East Bay and Fall River Community  TV. All 22 home games will be broadcast and produced by the award-winning Gulls media staff with Gulls  Director of Media Tom Lima serving as the Television Director. 
Back in February, the Gulls signed the ninth manager in franchise history, Middletown, R.I. native Frank  Holbrook. Holbrook played for Newport back in 2012, and was on the coaching staff as an assistant for the  2013 season. He has been to the NECBL Championship Series on both occasions as he tries to bring a title back  to Newport for the first time since 2014. With Holbrook now as the captain of the ship, and a new talent-filled  roster, the Gulls look to flip the narrative back to success and make their return to the Championship series for  the first time in eight years.  
The Newport Gulls, members of the 14-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 community 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 and Instagram @NewportGulls or visit www.newportgulls.com.