MARTHA’S VINEYARD SHARKS 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW
The penultimate edition of the 2025 NECBL Year in Review series has arrived, this time with a recap of the runner-up Martha’s Vineyard Sharks' 2025 season.
Martha’s Vineyard finished the 2025 season 25-19, third in the South Division. After sweeping the Bristol Blues in the first round of the playoffs, the Sharks managed to upset the back-to-back champion Newport Gulls in the South Division final, erasing a 1-0 series deficit. In the final, they were swept by the Keene Swamp Bats, falling just short of their fourth Fay Vincent Senior Cup.
The Sharks had three members on the All-NECBL first team: third baseman Brayden Martin, and relievers Rohan Lettow and Colby McNeely. Additionally, first baseman Evan Appelwick and starting pitcher Chayce Kieck made the second team. The Sharks had four All-Stars. Appelwick and Martin started at the corners for the South, while Lettow and McNeely were each All-Star game reserves.
On July 16, the Sharks hosted a thriller against another playoff team, the Sanford Mainers. Connor Ball got the start for Sanford, while Matthew Heyl took the mound for Martha’s Vineyard.
Each starter got roughed up in the first by way of the long ball. NECBL second-teamer Brendan Sencaj opened the game with a bang, smoking a leadoff home run to put the Mainers ahead 1-0. In the bottom of the first, shortstop Gio Colasante matched Sencaj, hitting his own solo homer to tie the game at 1-1.
The two offenses continued to mirror each other, each going scoreless in the second and third innings. In the top of the fourth, North Division All-Star shortstop Trey King hit a two-out, two-run double. First baseman Brady Krzciok answered the call in the bottom of the frame, hitting an RBI double. The next batter, Harley Goodner, hit an RBI groundout, and through four innings, each team had three runs on the board.
The Mainers finally managed to score an unanswered run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single from right fielder Luke Jenkins. After a scoreless fifth from Ball, Sanford was on top 4-3 through five.
That lead wouldn’t hold for long, as Martha’s Vineyard’s Jackson Miller scored the Sharks' fourth run of the ballgame on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth.
The Sharks managed to gain some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh. After a walk and a hit-by-pitch, designated hitter Max Kaufer hit a double, which turned into a Little League home run thanks to a throwing error. Despite recording just one hit in the inning, Martha’s Vineyard managed to scratch three runs across, and lead 7-4 headed to the eighth inning.
Trailing for the first time, Sanford’s lineup didn’t bat an eye. King opened the inning with a single and later scored on an RBI double from designated hitter Domenico Tozzi. The next batter, cleanup hitter Jack Toomey, delivered an RBI single, making it a 7-6 ballgame while moving Tozzi, the tying run, to third base with one out. Next up, All-Star first baseman Brennan Hudson did his job, driving Tozzi home on a sac fly. Just like that, the Sharks' lead was erased, and it was a 7-7 game headed to the bottom of the eighth.
After tossing seven innings, Ball was relieved of his duties in the eighth, and Conner Griffin struck out the side in a 1-2-3 inning of relief.
Lettow shut down the bottom of the Mainers’ order in the top of the ninth, setting the Sharks up for a walk-off victory. Martha’s Vineyard would face a tough test in All-NECBL honorable mention Drew Smith. The Sharks managed to play successful small ball. Right fielder Dominic Moats drew a one-out walk and advanced to third base after Smith made an error. While Colasante opened the Sharks’ scoring with a long ball, it was an innocent ground ball that closed their scoring and won Martha’s Vineyard the game, as Moats came around to score on a fielder’s choice, clinching an 8-7 win.
The Sharks scored eight runs, despite only collecting six hits, as they capitalized on three Sanford errors. Five Martha’s Vineyard arms combined to strike out 14 batters, with Heyl leading the way with four.
Stay tuned for the final iteration of the 2025 NECBL year in review series, releasing Tuesday, May 26.
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the New England League started play in 1994 and has sent over 240 alumni to the Major Leagues, with nearly 30 alumni taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
