Defending Champ Gulls Welcome Back Four
February 19, 2015 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, R.I. - Cardines Field will come alive on June 5 when the reigning Fay Vincent Sr. Cup champion Newport Gulls open up the team's 15th season in the NECBL, and four of the 2014 players who earned that trophy will be back in the hunt for another.
Returning in June will be second baseman Shea Donlin, utility infielder Reed Gamache, and pitchers Mike Mancuso and Mark McCoy.
"It's always important to have returning players because they are great ambassadors for the team both on and off the field," said General Manager Chuck Paiva. Returning Gulls not only understand the importance of being part of the Gulls Family, Paiva said, but also reflect the opportunity being a Newport Gull presents to new players.
"It means a lot to be defending in our 15th season," said Paiva. "The one thing that is consistent is that our teams understand the tradition we've built here, and after a while what it means to be a Newport Gull."
The Gulls will raise their sixth league championship banner in franchise history on Opening Night vs. the Mystic Schooners, and will have some familiar faces in uniform to help.
Lefty Mark McCoy flies in from Rutgers University in 2015 after pitching in 14 games (one start) in the 2014 season with the Gulls, in addition to three postseason relief appearances. One of the more veteran arms out of the Gulls bullpen, McCoy, who is returning for a third season with Newport, held opposing batters to a meager .246 average in 32 1/3 innings. The lefty is armed with a sharp fastball that is complemented with a hard-breaking curve, and averaged better than a strikeout per inning last summer.
"When it comes to personality and competitive spirit on the team, Mark exhibited surpluses of both," said Director of Media Relations Nick Lima. "It's been a blast watching Mark pitch the last two summers in Newport. I look forward to him continuing to be a leader both on and off the field in 2015."
While he worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen in 2014, McCoy could also take the hill to start this summer with the Gulls, a role the versatile pitcher found himself in four times during the 2013 season. The Barnegat, N.J. native was a 2012 26th Round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers.
In 2014, Mike Mancuso (University of Georgia) appeared in seven games, five of them starts, posting a 2-1 record and 3.81 ERA for the Gulls.
Finding himself in a spot where the Gulls needed him most, Mancuso came out of the bullpen on July 22 and pitched 2 2/3 innings of no-hit baseball against the Ocean State Waves. The appearance earned Mancuso and the Gulls a critical win against their in-state divisional rival, and turned out to be the beginning of the Gulls hot streak that culminated in the 2014 championship run.
"Mike has experience, and brings leadership to the staff," said Paiva of the tall, right-handed pitcher.
Mancuso, a 6-foot-6, Breeksville, Ohio native, was a 2011 46th Round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox.
Reed Gamache will return for his second season with the Newport Gulls and third overall in the NECBL. The Exeter, R.I. native - who grew up on Aquidneck Island and spent several summers as a Gulls host family in the 2000s - was a true utility player, splitting time between second and third base as well as the outfield for (also returning) Manager Mike Coombs in 2014.
"Reed has turned into a very good and dangerous hitter with gap-to-gap power," said Paiva.
A staple of stability during the regular season, Gamache batted .260, notching 27 hits in 104 plate appearances. When the calendar turned over to August, Gamache stepped up his game at the plate. His batting average jumped to .286 in the postseason, and he was a constant threat in all three playoff rounds, driving in six runs in seven games. The Binghamton University product played for the Ocean State Waves in 2013, batting .300 in 41 games.
Every team tries to have a player who, when the going gets tough, says, "Get on my back!" In 2014, that player was Shea Donlin, who will return this year for his third season in Newport. The 2013 NECBL All-Star was the spark that ignited the hot streak for the Gulls last August. Donlin's playoff appearance included a team-leading .385 batting average, .538 slugging percentage, and 1.022 OPS. In 32 playoff plate appearances, Donlin did not put the ball in play only 11 times - which includes five walks.
"He comes out and plays the game the right way every night," said Paiva. "He plays hard and competes."
"For two seasons, Shea has been the heart and soul of the team," Lima said. "He's hard working, he's consistent, and he's made some outstanding defensive plays on the right side of the infield."
Donlin, who hails from Woodinville, Wash., plays for Washington State University. In 2013 for Newport, he hit .274 in 34 games before likewise catching fire in the playoffs, batting .406 over seven games en route to the Gulls heartbreaking, Game Three League Championship Series loss to the Keene Swampbats.
While 2014 culminated in the NECBL championship, the Gulls struggled mightily during the regular season. In mid-July last year, the Gulls went on an unprecedented 13-game stretch where they held a win-loss record of just 2-11.
During the stretch, team officials cited the early exit of key pitchers and a roster that was bitten by the injury bug at the same time.
"You cannot plan for this stuff," said Paiva, "It usually just happens. But, the character of the team took over, and they went on an unprecedented run to the championship."
"Over 11 years of covering the Gulls on the air, I've been privileged to see a lot of success," Lima said. "During the darkest nights of July last summer, though, even I thought the team didn't have what it needed to find playoff glory. What that team did - and the four players coming back for 2015 were a big part of it - was accomplish a turnaround that was both remarkable and unprecedented. It made the championship win that much more special."
The 2015 Gulls will see a deeper pitching staff and a stronger infield defense than in 2014, Paiva said. Offensively, the Gulls look to continue to boast a strong lineup with the ability to score runs early and often - a trait which carried the championship squad last summer. As the collegiate spring season gets into full swing, injuries and other factors can always impact the final roster that shows up in June, but Paiva believes the pieces are all there to make another run for the league title.
"Right now, I believe this team will be as good as any team we have had," Paiva said.
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New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from February 19, 2015
- Defending Champ Gulls Welcome Back Four - Newport Gulls
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