Murphy and Dembrowski  Receive Promotions to New Roles

The Norwich Sea Unicorns announced on field coaching staff changes for the upcoming 2025 season today. Kevin Murphy, who has led the Sea Unicorns to 76 regular season wins, two regular season championships and two Futures League postseason titles in his two years as manager, is leaving his post to become the Director of Player Personnel for the Sea Unicorns. With that move, the Sea Unicorns have promoted Kyle Dembrowski from Associate Manager to Manager, the 4^th in the Sea Unicorns history, following Eric Campbell, Devin Belenski and Murphy.

“First, I would like to thank Kevin Murphy for his two outstanding seasons as manager of the Sea Unicorns,” said General Manager Lee Walter, Jr. “I continue to be excited about the future with Kevin staying on in his new role and also being able to have Kyle Dembrowski take the reins as Manager. Kyle brings several years of Futures League coaching experience, including two seasons managing, to the position. Additionally, both Kevin and I have talked at length about the incredible job that Kyle did for us last summer in helping us clinch our second consecutive championship.”

Murphy is currently in his second season as the pitching coach at Division 3 Amherst College, following a season as the Volunteer Assistant Coach at Quinnipiac University to begin his collegiate coaching career. Dembrowski is currently in his first season as the Volunteer Assistant Coach at Division 1 College of the Holy Cross. He has previously spent time at Lackawanna College, Spalding University and Worcester State University and was also with the Westfield Starfires of the Futures League for 3 seasons prior to joining the Sea Unicorns in 2024. Further announcements regarding the coaching staff will be made once they are finalized.

Founded in 2011, the Futures League is a wood-bat league featuring top collegiate baseball players from New England and throughout the country. On the field, over 200 FCBL alumni have been drafted by or signed with Major League Baseball organizations. The league also includes the New Britain Bees (New Britain, CT), former New York-Penn League rival Vermont Lake Monsters (Burlington, VT), Nashua Silver Knights (Nashua, NH), Westfield Starfires (Westfield, MA), Worcester Bravehearts (Worcester, MA).

The Norwich Sea Unicorns are located at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. The front office and box office are open daily from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and can be accessed in person or by calling 860-887-7962. Sea Unicorns merchandise is available anytime by visiting goseaunicorns.com.

Nick Tomasetto’s 2 out walkoff double in the bottom of the 9th lifted the Norwich Sea Unicorns to their second consecutive Futures League title with a 5-4 victory over Westfield in Game 2 of the Futures League Championship. After dropping Game 1 of the semifinals against the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Sea Unicorns rattled off 4 straight wins to repeat as Futures League Champions, and the first to accomplish the feat since the 2018 and 2019 Worcester Bravehearts.

Westfield opened the scoring, striking for a run against Norwich starter Hector Alejandro in the 1st. Julio Solier began the frame with an infield single and advanced into scoring position after a throwing error by Alejandro spilled into foul territory up the first base line. Some command issues by the UCONN product loaded the bases for the Starfires with one out after issuing consecutive walks. Trey Cruz brought home the first run of the afternoon on a ground out to the Norwich first baseman. Alejandro escaped the frame without any further damage, inducing a fly ball to AJ Soldra.

Norwich responded in the 3rd, erupting for 3 runs against Westfield to take their first lead of the afternoon. Nick Sturino drew a one out walk and later Kaiden Dossa reached on a throwing error by the Westfield third baseman to give the Sea Unicorns runners at 2nd and 3rd with one away. AJ Soldra returned the ball game to equilibrium with an RBI groundout to second. Nick Tomasetto extended the stanza for the host, working a 2 out walk to give Norwich runners at the corners. Shaun Callahan took advantage, smacking a bases clearing triple to left field that narrowly escaped the reach of the diving left fielder.

The Starfires answered back in the 6th with 3 runs of their own to retake the lead. Alejandro ran intro trouble with one out after walking the next 2 batters he faced. Cameron Papetti cut the Norwich lead to 1 with an RBI double to left field and Jackson Haker evened the scoring at 3 with a ground out to second. Gianno Merlonghi restored the lead for Westfield, punching a go-ahead single into center field. Kyle Garbowski ended the afternoon for Alejandro with a base hit into left field to continue the threat for Westfield. Norwich elected to bring in Gavin Hawkes to escape the inning without any further damage. The move paid off as Hawkes punched out Solier to end the Westfield 6th.

Jordan Talbot held the Norwich offense scoreless after entering the ballgame in the 4th, allowing just 1 hit. Bo Yaworski delivered for Norwich in the 8th against Talbot with a game-tying 2 out double to the wall in left center field to bring home Porter.

Nick Tomasetto called game for Norwich in the home 9th with a walk off opposite field double against reliever Camden Thomas to seal the deal. Soldra extended the frame after being plunked by a pitch. Westfield decided to bring in Thomas to face Tomasetto, but the most clutch hitter in the late innings delivered once again to propel Norwich to their second straight Futures League title Sunday afternoon, completing a sweep over the Starfires 2-0.

The bullpen for Norwich was lights out once again, tossing 3.1 innings of shutout baseball. Mike Poncini earned the victory, firing 2 innings of scoreless baseball out of the pen while striking out 4. Overall, the Norwich bullpen allowed 3 earned runs in 22.2 innings of work in the postseason for a 1.22 ERA.

Win- Mike Poncini (1-0)

Loss- Jordan Talbot (0-1)

Time- 2:35

THANK YOU

Thank you fans, for another incredible summer in the Rose City. We could not do this without your support all summer long and cannot wait to welcome everyone back to Dodd Stadium next summer as we celebrate our 5th season as the Norwich Sea Unicorns and members of the Futures League.

The Norwich Sea Unicorns took the opener of the best of 3 Futures League Championship series last night behind enemy lines, securing a 5-3 triumph over the Westfield Starfires. Norwich’s victory last night was the Sea Unicorns 2^nd victory on the road this postseason.

Westfield began the scoring in the 2^nd, converting on a wild pitch by Norwich starter Teo Spadaccini. The Starfires began the frame with back-to-back infield base hits from Aidan Redahan and Julio Solier. Spadaccini recovered, retiring the next 2 batters he faced, but Westfield had runners stationed at the corners. Unfortunately, Teo was unable to escape the jam after firing a wild pitch to Josh Frometa to bring home the first run of the night for the host.

The Sea Unicorns responded immediately in the 4^th on a bases clearing triple by AJ Soldra to give Norwich their first lead of the night. Chris Carson kickstarted the Norwich offense with a 2 out single into left field. Some command trouble by Westfield starter Kyle Salvati helped Norwich load the bases after Salvati issued a walk to Connor Lane and plunked Nick Sturino to set the table for Soldra. The Seton Hall transfer capitalized, hammering a triple down the right field line to unload the bases. Soldra’s triple is his first of the postseason and 9^th overall this summer.

Westfield answered back in the 5^th thanks to a game tying 2-run blast from Danny Hussey. Hussey’s home run is his second of the postseason and leveled the scoring at 3.

Norwich took the lead for good in the 7^th on a clutch RBI single from Nick Tomasetto. The Rutgers product continued his timely late-inning offense, driving home Kaiden Dossa who doubled earlier in the inning. Nick Sturino added some insurance in the 8^th, scoring Alex Irizarry with a 2 out infield single.

David Rodriguez earned the victory for Norwich out of the bullpen, tossing 2.2 innings of relief. The Trevose, Pennsylvania native punched out 4 while allowing a run on one hit. Overall, Rodriguez owns a 1.90 ERA over 3.2 innings of work in the postseason with 6 strikeouts and has not issued any walks.

Jimmy Mulvaney sealed the deal for Norwich in game one, completing a 6 out save. The Fairfield reliever worked around a couple of baserunners in the 9^th inning to preserve the victory for Norwich in the opener of the best of 3 series. Mulvaney has now worked 4 scoreless innings in the postseason.

Win- David Rodriguez (1-0)

Loss- Cam Fisher (0-1)

Save- Jimmy Mulvaney (1)

Time- 2:51

UPCOMING

After last night’s 5-3 win, the Norwich Sea Unicorns have taken a 1-0 series lead in the FCBL Championship series. Norwich needs one more victory this afternoon to repeat as Futures League Champs. The series swings to the Rose City this afternoon with Game 2 scheduled for 1 p.m. EST. Game 3 will be played, if necessary, at 6 p.m. local time. Both contests will be hosted at historic Dodd Stadium and it is free admission along with free parking.

Ticket Punched, Norwich is Headed Back to the Futures League Championship

The Norwich Sea Unicorns are headed back to the Futures League Championship after a decisive Game 3 victory over the Lake Monsters 10-3. Norwich’s victory yesterday has clinched the Sea Unicorns an opportunity to defend their title against the Westfield Starfires in a best of 3 series.

Alex Irizarry helped lift off the Norwich offense with a mammoth 1^st inning grand slam off Vermont starter Cole Riskin. Norwich took full advantage of Riskin’s command troubles as he walked the bases loaded to set the stage for Irizarry. The Quinnipiac product has now homered in back-to-back contests and has collected 7 RBIs in the postseason.

Riskin lasted just 0.2 innings, surrendering 4 runs and issued 4 walks before manager Matt Fincher decided to remove his starter. Vermont brought in Zander Teator, who was originally in the ballgame as the DH, to clean up the early mess. The Babson product shined out of the bullpen, tossing 5.1 innings of a perfect game in relief, including 7 strikeouts. Offensively, Teator impressed as well, going 3 for 4 at the plate.

Teator’s efforts on the mound allowed Vermont a chance to climb out of an early 4-0 deficit. The Lake Monsters slowly battled back adding a run in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th innings to cut the Norwich lead to 1. In the 2^nd, Tommy Googins helped Vermont get on the board with an RBI single to bring home Dante Pozzi who doubled earlier in the frame. Sam Cavossa ignited the Lake Monsters offense in the 3^rd with a leadoff triple and was quickly brought home on a Mark Quatrani sacrifice fly.

In the 5^th, Vermont threatened loading the bases with no outs on a pair of singles and a walk. After the first 2 batters reached base safely, Sea Unicorns manager Kevin Murphy elected to bring in Gavin Hawkes to minimize the damage. Hawkes allowed a base hit on his first pitch to load the bases. The Rider product quickly settled down, retiring the next 3 batters he faced in order to escape the jam with minimal damage, allowing just 1 run to score on a sac fly.

Norwich added some important insurance in the 7^th striking for 3 runs to take a 7-3 lead. Trey Porter jumpstarted the offense with a leadoff pinch-hit triple to begin the frame. Chris Carson followed, cracking an RBI base hit into left field past the drawn in Lake Monsters infield. Carson found his way into scoring position after swiping second base and came around to score on a throwing error by the Vermont third baseman, who airmailed his throw up the right field line on Aidan Baglino’s bunt single. The throwing error allowed Baglino to take second base and later advanced to 3^rd on a ground out. Nick Sturino helped drive home his Fairfield teammate on a sac fly to restore Norwich’s 4-run lead.

The offense for Norwich continued to rumble in the 8^th, adding another 3 runs to take a 10-3 lead. Command trouble from Sean Gamble helped Norwich load the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of walks and a base hit. Trey Porter extended the Norwich lead to 5 with a sac fly and also allowed the base runner from 2^nd to tag up and take 3^rd. A wild pitch to Chris Carson allowed a 2^nd run to cross the plate in the frame. Aidan Baglino added the final tally, dumping a base hit into left field to score Alex Irizarry.

Once again, the bullpen for Norwich shined, allowing 1 run over the final 5 innings. Overall, the Norwich bullpen surrendered just 1 run in the series in 13 innings of work.

Win- Giovanni Conte (1-0)

Loss- Cole Riskin (0-1)

Time- 2:46

UPCOMING

Yesterday’s victory has punched Norwich’s ticket into the Futures League Championship and a chance to defend their title. The Sea Unicorns will face the second seeded Westfield Starfires in a best of 3 series beginning Saturday night. Due to the expected weather in Norwich the series will begin in Westfield at Bullens Field at 5 p.m. EST on Saturday. Norwich will host games 2 and 3 in a Sunday doubleheader at Dodd Stadium. Game 2 will begin at 1 p.m. and Game 3 will begin at 6 p.m. if necessary. Both contests on Sunday will be full 9-innng games.

Decisive Game 3 Scheduled For Dodd Stadium On Wednesday

The Norwich Sea Unicorns forced a game 3 taking game 2 in Burlington 7-2. Both sides have won in enemy territory sending the series back to Norwich for a winner take all game 3.

 

Norwich took the early lead with a solo home run by Kaiden Dossa in the 3rd, clearing the deck in center field . The solo blast is the first of the summer for the Yale product and Norwich’s 1st in the postseason.

 

Vermont responded in the 4th, taking the lead with a pair of runs. The Lake Monsters did all their damage with a pair of outs on a base hit by Dante Pozzi that cleared the bases following an error committed by the Norwich center fielder. Sea Unicorns manager Kevin Murphy elected to bring in reliever Gavin Hawkes to escape the frame without any further damage. The move paid off as Hawkes was able to strikeout Wyatt Patchett to end the frame. 

 

Norwich punched back in the 5th taking the lead and never relinquished it. Nick Tomasetto delivered in the clutch with a 2 out, 2 run scoring base hit into left field to drive home Dossa and Soldra. 

 

In the 6th, Alex Irizarry clobbered the second home run of the night for Norwich. The Tolland, Connecticut native continued his big night with a 2 out, 2-run single into right to extend the lead for Norwich to 4. 

 

Ayden McNelly added the final blow in the 9th with his 2nd double of the summer to drive home Tomasetto. 

 

The bullpen for Norwich was lights out last night tossing 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Norwich’s pen held the Vermont offense to 4 hits while striking out 6. 

 

Win- Gavin Hawkes (1-0)

Loss- Wyatt Cameron (0-1)

 

Time- 3:03

 

UPCOMING 

 

Norwich’s victory last night has returned the best of 3 series back to the Rose City for a decisive Game 3. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST and it is free admission tonight at Dodd Stadium. 

The Norwich Sea Unicorns were unable to overcome a 4-0 1^st inning deficit, dropping the opener of the best of 3 series to the Vermont Lake Monsters 5-4. Norwich’s defeat Monday night is the first time all summer that the Sea Unicorns have fallen at home to Vermont.

Vermont erupted early, striking for 4 runs in the top of the 1^st to take an early lead in Game 1. Norwich starter, Hector Alejandro issued a leadoff walk to Tyler Favretto and a base hit to Sam Cavossa to give the visitors runners at 1^st and 2^nd with no outs. The UCONN product responded retiring the next two batters he faced. The Lake Monsters did all their damage with a pair of outs, recording 3 straight hits. Zander Teator helped Vermont get on the board with a double to right field that escaped the reach of the Norwich right fielder to bring home a pair of runs. Chone James followed with a base hit to center field to drive home Teator from 1^st, and another base knock by Jackson Sirois helped Vermont increase their early lead to 4.

Norwich responded with a run in the 3^rd and another in the 4^th to slice the Lake Monsters lead in half. Connor Lane reached with one out on a hit by pitch. Lane represented the first baserunner of the night against Vermont starter Brody Shawn who had retired the first 7 he faced in order. A wild pitch advanced the Norwich catcher into scoring position and a base hit by Kaiden Dossa into left field produced the first run of the night for the Sea Unicorns.

In the 4^th, Norwich scratched across their 2^nd run of the night after loading the bases with a pair of outs. Nick Tomasetto began the frame with a lead off base hit into left field and Antonio Ducatelli followed drawing a walk to give Norwich some traffic on the basepaths. Wake Forest product Brody Shawn recovered, striking out the next 2 Sea Unicorns. Next, Bo Yaworski was plunked on the first pitch he saw, loading the bases for Norwich. The second walk of the frame plated the second run of the night and ended the night for Brody Shawn who departed with a pair of outs and the bases loaded. Vermont manager, Matt Fincher elected to bring in Robbie Lee to clean up the mess and preserve the lead for the Lake Monsters. The right hander was successful, inducing a ground ball to first base to end the inning.

The Lake Monsters answered with a run in the 5^th to claim a 3 run lead. Owen McKiernan began the stanza with an infield base hit. An error by the Norwich third baseman allowed Favretto to reach on his sacrifice bunt up the 3^rd base line. Mark Quatrani delivered for the visitors, flipping a single into left field to bring home McKiernan from 2^nd. Alejandro battled back, mitigating any further damage from the Vermont offense.

In the 7^th, the top of the order made some noise against Robbie Lee, who had allowed one baserunner through 3 innings of relief. Kaiden Dossa extended the home 7^th with an infield base hit and AJ Soldra followed hammering a double off the right field wall to bring home Dossa and trim the Vermont lead to 2.

Luke Cardman shined out of the bullpen, holding the Lake Monsters offense scoreless in his 3 innings of relief and struck out 3. The only blemish in the outing for Cardman was a base hit by Jack Rickheim.

Norwich rallied in the 9^th, striking for a run to cut the Vermont lead to 1, but unfortunately that would be the closest Norwich would come in the comeback effort. The first 2 batters for the Sea Unicorns reached base safely due to some command trouble by Sean Gamble who plunked Connor Lane and walked Shaun Callahan who pinch hit for Tirado. Norwich decided to pinch run for both Connor Lane and Shaun Callahan for the speed of Chris Carson and Nick Sturino. After some early command trouble, Matt Fincher brought in Zander Teator to close out the ballgame for Vermont. The Sea Unicorns immediately utilized the speed of their pinch runners, converting a successful double steal. Teator was able to retire Dossa on a weak pop up to the shortstop forcing both baserunners to remain at their stations. Soldra closed the margin to 1 with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left field and allowed Sturino to take 3^rd. The Babson reliver secured the victory for Vermont with a fly ball to center field.

Win- Robbie Lee (1-0)

Loss- Hector Alejandro (1)

Save- Zander Teator (1)

Time 2:42

UPCOMING

The best of the 3 series will swing to Vermont tonight with the Lake Monsters holding the upper hand. Norwich needs a win tonight to keep their season alive and force a game 3 on Wednesday night back at home. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EST from Centennial Field.