Hector Alejandro Tosses First No Hitter in Sea Unicorns History

It was Hector Alejandro’s night at Dodd Stadium on Saturday, spinning the first no-hitter in the history of the Norwich Sea Unicorns. The Waterbury, Connecticut native helped Norwich to their 8th win in their last 9 contests, taking down Worcester 3-1. Norwich resides atop the Futures League standings, holding a record of 28-16.

There was no scoring in the ballgame until the 5th inning when Worcester grabbed a 1-0 lead. Hector Alejandro had a perfect game cruising into the frame, until he plunked the leadoff batter to provide Worcester with their first baserunner of the night. Next, Max D’Alessandro reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by the Norwich shortstop allowed the Bravehearts traffic in scoring position. The UCONN product induced a pop up to the third baseman to retire the first out in the inning. A sacrifice fly produced the first run of the night for the visitors and Alejandro punched out the next batter he faced to end the frame.

Norwich immediately punched back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Alex Irizarry continued his surge at the plate, punching a one out base hit into right field. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Norwich. Next, Bo Yaworski scorched a ground ball to the Worcester first baseman who sprawled out to keep the ball in the infield to retire Sturino at second, but helped Norwich level the scoring, bringing home Irizarry from 3rd. The Sea Unicorns took the lead on a wild pitch from reliever Jake LeFrancois.

In the 6th, Norwich extended their lead to 2, taking advantage of some command trouble from reliever Mitch Hawkins. The Sacred Heart product hit Connor Lane with one out and later a wild pitch advanced Lane 90 feet. Nick Tomasetto cracked through once again, lining a single into left field to give Norwich runners at the corners. Shaun Callahan supplied some insurance for Norwich with his sacrifice fly to steer home Lane from 3rd.

Hector Alejandro allowed just one baserunner for Worcester the rest of the way, issuing a 2 out walk in the 9th. After a quick meeting at the mound, the right-hander retired Owen Pincince on a ground out to short to seal the deal on a historic night at Dodd Stadium. Alejandro completed his night striking out 5 and needing just 86 pitches.

The no-hitter is the second complete game no-no in Futures League history. In the 30 year history of Dodd Stadium, Alejandro’s magical night appears to be the first no hitter thrown by the team that calls Dodd Stadium home. The Norwich Navigators and Connecticut Defenders never threw a no hitter during their time at Dodd Stadium from 1995-2009. The Connecticut Tigers (which became the Sea Unicorns just before losing affiliation status and joining the Futures League) threw a combined no hitter in Tri City in 2019. The Navigators were no hit by their opponents twice (1996 and 1999), however, Baseball Reference does not list where those respective games were played. There has been at least one no hitter at Dodd Stadium in high School baseball action over the years.

The Sea Unicorns are back in action this afternoon for a meeting with the New Britain Bees. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST from New Britain Stadium.

Win- Hector Alejandro (4-0)

Loss- Jake LeFrancois (1-1)

Time- 1:57