OAK BLUFFS, MA. - The Newport Gulls entered the Shark Tank on Tuesday night for a marquee matchup vs. the Martha's Vineyard Sharks in front of a capacity crowd. It was a meeting between two of the southern divisions' best, and Newport brought their A-game.

Newport went down in order to kick off the first, but it gave way to the Gulls rotation and Finbar O'Brien (Gonzaga), who proved to be masterful yet again. He retired his first two batters before surrendering two singles. O'Brien dialed back in and forced a fielder's choice to get out of the inning.

The Gulls' bats were quiet in the second, as Sharks starting pitcher Luca Alagheband forced weak contact vs. the middle of the Newport order. O'Brien followed up with a three-pitch inning. First, a groundout to third, followed by a single, then capped off with a double-play made by Randy Seymour (Michigan State), who took it to second himself before making a strong throw to Petey Craska (North Alabama) at first.

Alagheband cut down the first two Gulls batters in the third, but Adrian Areizaga (MiamiFL) did not waver. A two-out double gave way to the top of the order and Matt Bolton (Binghamton). Bolton singled, scoring Areizaga, and added to his league-leading total of 21 RBI. 

O'Brien faced a bit of trouble after a single and a walk with two outs, but punched out two-way star Gio Colasante to end the third with a 1-0 lead. Just when you thought it was safe for another inning of work for Alagheband, the Gulls made the lefty regret it.

After a leadoff walk was administered to A.J. Evasco (Kansas State), Michael Gupton (Samford) hit a line drive to right field three batters later. What looked like a potential double off the bat became a fish out of water, as it shot over the right field fence for Gupton's first homer of the year, a two-run blast. 

Finbar was back out to work in the fourth with a three-run lead and let his defense go to work. With two on and one away, another ground ball from Hunter High made its way to Seymour at short, who rolled one up with Areizaga and turned two to end the inning.

Matthew Heyl replaced Alagheband in the fifth and proved to be effective. He got two quick outs, hit Bolton in the back with a heater, and then settled back in, forcing a fly out off the bat of Colby Wallace (East Carolina). In O'Brien's last inning, he was on point, dominating the fifth, sitting the Vineyard lineup down 1-2-3.

The top of the sixth saw Heyl face the minimum, punching out Evasco and Seymour in the process, to keep the Sharks in the ballgame. Brennan Phillips (Oklahoma State) relieved O'Brien and got two quick outs against Vineyard to start the bottom of the sixth. However, Phillips struggled with location for a brief moment, allowing a walk and hitting Blake Binderup to put two on. Will Hampton ripped his third single of the day in timely fashion to score Max Kaufer from second and give the Sharks a run to cut into the deficit. Hunter High would strike out swinging against Phillips, a preview of what to come from the southpaw on the hill.

Heyl's day was done after two innings, and the Gulls jumped on the remaining Vineyard staff. Michael Gupton led off the seventh with a single, stole second, and moved over to third on a Dre Lewis (Manhattan) fly out to center field. Petey Craska hit a slow dribbler to third that would not draw a throw from Brayden Martin and allowed Gupton to score Newport's fourth run and retake the 3-run advantage.

Phillips sat down his next three hitters in order, striking out Jamal George, inducing a groundout from Martin, and banking on Cade Brown (Georgia Tech) in left to make a great catch on a slicing fly ball near the left field line.

It became evident that the Sharks' bullpen was having a hard time staying afloat going into the eighth. Wallace and Evasco hit two singles to put runners on the corners to start the inning. Seymour grounded out to first to plate Colby Wallace, and Michael Gupton hit a gap shot that hit off the glove of a diving Will Hampton. Evasco hit home before Gupton was gunned down trying to stretch a double into a triple after a great relay from the Sharks' defense. Still, Newport led 6-1 with six outs to get.

Phillips got a one-pitch lineout and sandwiched a two-out walk with a pair of strikeouts, proving to be dominant deep into his relief appearance. Newport added onto their lead after a Dre Lewis walk, giving way to Petey Craska, who hit his second four-bagger of the season and his first since June 4th.

The Gulls led 8-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, and Phillips put an exclamation point on the day. He punched out the side, completing the four-inning save and finishing with eight strikeouts. Newport's two-platoon strategy worked like a charm, and the bats were consistent after the first two innings.

Newport kicks off July with a statement win, moving to 16-7 and winning nine of their last ten contests, to remain atop the NECBL Southern Division. The Gulls get set for game three of the Pell Bridge Series against the Ocean State Waves on Wednesday, July 2nd at Cardines Field. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. and streaming on ESPN+.