Eric Stone follows in footsteps of Eagles teammates Matt Pare and Blake Butera
May 9, 2013 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Newport Gulls News Release
NEWPORT, RI - The defending NECBL champion Newport Gulls have added pitching depth to their 2013 roster with the acquisition of Boston College sophomore right-handed pitcher Eric Stone.
Stone is 1-0 with a 7.48 ERA in 13 appearances (four starts) as a sophomore at Boston College this spring. Utilized mainly as a reliever, Stone has allowed just 19 runs (18 earned) on 32 hits with nine walks and 10 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work.
Stone went 1-3 with a 4.82 ERA, appearing in eight games, making seven starts before an injury cut short his freshman campaign. Stone allowed only 14 runs (10 earned) on 21 hits with 10 walks and 11 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work.
In high school, Stone served as team captain as a senior and was named to the CHSCA All-State Team and a New Haven Register All-State Second Team selection. An All-League and All-Conference selection at West Haven High School in Connecticut, Stone went 4-3 with a 1.30 ERA as a senior while batting .370 with a school-record 14 doubles. He was also named to the Perfect Game All-Northeast Second Team and also excelled in the classroom, becoming a member of the prestigious National Honor Society.
Stone follows in the footsteps of his Boston College teammates catcher Matt Pare and infielder Blake Butera, two key cogs in the offensive engine that drove the Gulls to their league-record fifth NECBL championship last summer.
Pare arrived in late June and made an immediate impact, splitting the catching duties with Rutgers standout Jeff Melillo, who set an NECBL record for on base percentage. Pare batted .344 (22-for-64) with 18 runs scored, six doubles, five homers and 17 RBI in 22 games during the regular season. During the playoffs, Pare batted a team-leading .467 (7-for-15) with seven runs scored, one double, a pair of home runs and four RBI in six games.
Butera made an impact all summer with his stellar defense at shortstop and tenacious approach at the plate. Butera batted .250 (22-for-88) with 25 runs scored, one double, one home run and 12 RBI in 29 games during the regular season.
The Newport Gulls open up the 2013 regular season at home against the New Bedford Bay Sox on Thursday, June 6th.
Since moving to Newport in 2001, the Gulls have captured the New England Collegiate Baseball League championship, the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup, an NECBL-record five times, and in 2012 were named the No. 1 summer collegiate team in the country by Perfect Game USA in Perfect Game's Top 50 final rankings, capping a record-breaking season by Newport and marking the first time ever that an NECBL franchise has been ranked No. 1 nationally.
The Gulls, which attract more than 50,000 fans annually to historic Cardines Field in Newport, recruit players from the top college baseball programs in the country, and to date have sent six alumni to Major League Baseball teams, and more than 130 players to professional baseball teams ranging from Independent leagues to Triple-A.
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