Gulls Fly Into Upper Valley for Battle of the Birds

By Thaddeus Sawyer

There aren’t too many similarities between Newport, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

For one, Newport is a city. Vermont is a state.

All joking aside, there’s the Atlantic-sized difference that Vermont is the only landlocked state in New England, while Rhode Island’s official nickname is the Ocean State.

Newport is characterized by shoreline drives lined with mansions and sprawling lawns the size of baseball fields. Vermont is defined by dirt roads, darkened by the canopies of maple trees and leading to secluded cabins and rural farms.

Some of the same tourists who travel to Newport in the summer to sail may venture to the Green Mountains to ski in the winter.

The Nighthawks (10-9-1) will be hoping that one thing does stay the same when the Newport Gulls (12-7-1) visit the Maxfield Sports Complex on Tuesday night: the outcome.

After defeating the Gulls for their first win of the season back on June 5, the Nighthawks will have a chance to sweep the season series with a win.

While the Nighthawks are looking for a repeat of the early June contest in their final game of the first month, Tuesday will be debut of sorts for right-hander Micah Wells.

The expected Nighthawks starter will be making his first start of the summer after opening four games for St. Joseph’s University this spring. In five relief appearances and seven innings this season, the Philadelphia native has allowed just one earned run while striking out six, stretching out as far as 3 1/3 innings in a single outing.

The Gulls won’t make it easy on Wells, as they will be riding a seven-game winning streak into battle on Tuesday. Newport is 9-1 across their last 10 games.

Leading that charge has been first baseman Devan Zirwas, who earned a spot on the NECBL Week 4 Honor Roll after notching five hits and five walks over the course of the week, driving in three runs. The Coastal Carolina graduate student leads the team with a 1.005 OPS.

Samford shortstop Gus Gandy is right behind him with a 1.004 OPS. Both are tied with Kentucky shortstop Caeden Cloud for the team lead with six extra-base hits.

Cloud is also tied with Miami University outfielder Ryan Novak with a team-leading three home runs.

Vanderbilt reliever Nate Schlote is expected to get the start for the Gulls. After dominating out of the Commodores’ bullpen to the tune of a 1.52 ERA in 17 appearances as a freshman in 2026, the right-hander has made two scoreless starts of three innings apiece for Newport.

Schlote has struck out nine in six frames, including seven punchouts against the Bristol Blues on June 8.

The Nighthawks struck out just seven times at the plate against the Valley Blue Sox on Monday in a 3-0 shutout victory.

Cam Boardman led the offense with two RBIs while making his debut in left field. The natural catcher has now reached base in five straight games since returning from injury, collecting five hits in that span.

Frank Kelly matched Tim Dickinson with a team-high two hits on Monday and has slashed .311/.439/.422 across 57 plate appearances this summer.

James Love leads the team with 19 games played and a .987 OPS.

First pitch at the Max is scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on NECBL+.