Category: Captains Chronicles

Norwich Sea Unicorns and Futures League Release 2024 Schedule

Pi Day Ticket Sale for Home Opener Set for March 14th

NORWICH, CT- The Norwich Sea Unicorns, in conjunction with the Futures League, unveiled the 2024 schedule today. The Sea Unicorns will open defense of their 2023 Championship in New Britain, CT on Friday, May 24th as they take on the New Britain Bees. Opening Night at Dodd Stadium will take place Saturday, May 25th when the Sea Unicorns host the Road Warriors. The home opener will begin at 6:30 pm with a final tribute to the 2023 Futures League Championship team.

 

The 2024 schedule features a total of 58 games with 32 games played at Dodd Stadium. The home schedule features one home game on a Monday, four on Tuesdays, five on Wednesdays, five on Thursdays, five on Fridays, seven on Saturdays and five on Sundays. Game times will be 6:30 pm for all games Tuesday-Saturday and 4 pm on Sundays. There will be four exceptions to these times as the Sea Unicorns will play at 4:00pm on Memorial Day (Monday, May 27th), and will host 2 Education Day games (Wednesday, May 29th & Wednesday, June 5th) and the annual Camp Day game (Wednesday, July 17th), with all of these games starting at 11:00am.

 

To help build the excitement for the greatest Sea Unicorns season yet, the annual Pi Day sale will once again be held on March 14th. Sea Unicorns fans can purchase Reserve section tickets for the Opening Night game for just $3.14 each. Tickets will be available online, via phone or by stopping into the Dodd Stadium Ticket Office. Online sales will be open all day while the Ticket Office will be open from 9am-5pm for those that wish to call or stop by.

 

The Sea Unicorns will be celebrating the 30th season of baseball at Dodd Stadium this year, with an action packed promotional schedule. In addition to the 32 regular season home games, the Sea Unicorns will host the 2024 Futures League All Star Experience on July 22nd & 23rd, which will include the Home Run Derby as part of the Monday festivities and the All Star Game as part of the Tuesday festivities. Further details regarding the 2024 promotional schedule will be released over the coming weeks.

 

Norwich Sea Unicorns season ticket memberships to The Captain’s Club, First Mate’s Club (kids 12 & under) and Mini Plan Flex Packs are currently on sale for the 2024 season. For a full list of perks in each package, please reach out to the Sea Unicorns Front Office staff. As previously announced, All Star Experience tickets will go on sale on February 29th. Information regarding the release date for all remaining individual game tickets will be forthcoming.

Sea Unicorns Announce All Star Experience Ticket Information

           Two Day Futures League Event to be Held on July 22 and July 23

NORWICH, CT- The Norwich Sea Unicorns have announced ticket information for the Futures League All Star Experience to be held at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, CT on Monday, July 22nd and Tuesday, July 23rd. While full details of the two day event are still being finalized, the Sea Unicorns will put tickets on sale beginning on Thursday, February 29th so fans can “Leap” into thoughts of summer, warmer weather and baseball returning to Dodd Stadium for the 30th season!

Monday’s events will include a First Responder Game presented by Hartford Healthcare. Also on the docket for Monday the 22nd will be the Home Run Derby and a post Derby live music show. Tickets for the Monday events will be $10 General Admission with $5 of each ticket sold being split up and presented to charity.

Tuesday’s events will include Autograph signings by the Futures League All Stars during batting practice and the All Star Game will begin at 7:00pm. Fireworks will light the sky following the All Star Game. Tickets for the Tuesday events will be the same as Sea Unicorns regular season tickets: Premium seats are $12, Reserved seats are $11, and Grandstand seats are $10. Luxury Suites will also be available for both days, however, the Lighthouse will be closed for private parties. More details for both days’ events will be released in the coming weeks.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets can visit the Dodd Stadium Box Office, purchase tickets over the phone by calling (860) 887-7962, or visit goseaunicorns.com to buy online.

2024 Futures League All Star Experience Coming To Norwich in July

 

Festivities to Include All Star Game, Home Run Derby and Other Events

 

NORWICH, CT- For the first time since the summer of 2013, Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium will host an All Star Game. The Norwich Sea Unicorns and the Futures League have announced that the 2024 Futures League All Star Experience will take place in Norwich on Monday, July 22nd and Tuesday, July 23rd of 2024. Many of the details for what is expected to be a two day event are still in the planning stages, however the Sea Unicorns are hoping to hold the Home Run Derby as part of Monday’s schedule of events, with the All Star Game on Tuesday evening.

 

“Coming off of the 2023 Futures League Championship and celebrating the 30th season of baseball at Dodd Stadium in 2024, the All Star Experience is a great addition to what we expect to be the best season of Sea Unicorns baseball yet,” said Sea Unicorns General Manager Lee Walter, Jr. “Full plans for the two day event will be announced in the coming months, but we hope the fans of the Futures League, and more specifically, the great people of Southeastern Connecticut, are as excited for this as we are!”

 

“Dodd Stadium is the perfect fit for our 2024 Futures League festivities,” said Futures League Commissioner Joe Paolucci. “The fans of Norwich will have an opportunity to see the best of the best that our league has to offer and we are all excited to see what the 2023 Organization of the Year has in store for us. It is going to be a great event that will help to continue to grow our league.”

 

Further details for the Futures League festivities will be revealed throughout the coming months. Please keep an eye on the Norwich Sea Unicorns (goseaunicorns.com) and the Futures League (thefuturesleague.com) websites and social media pages as details emerge.

Sea Unicorns Introduce First Mate’s Club

The Norwich Sea Unicorns have introduced the newest membership package in their great lineup of fan features, The First Mate’s Club! This new membership is for our youngest fans (12 & under) and it comes with many great treasures:

-Personalized membership credential with lanyard to be worn as a source of pride

-First Mate’s Club member t-shirt

-Ticket to every Sunday Funday Sea Unicorns Home Game (5 games in total)

-Discounts on merchandise and concessions when you show your credential during the Sunday Funday games

-Pre-game parade on the field before the first Sunday Funday home game

-Pre-game field access on other select Sunday Funday games (TBD)

-First in line to run the bases following Sunday Funday games (not available on the first Sunday home game)

-Other free gifts on select Sunday Funday’s during the season

-End of season ice cream social (following our final Sunday Funday regular season game)

The First Mate’s Club membership is $50 and will make a great gift for the young Sea Unicorns fan in your life. To purchase a First Mate’s Club membership, please call the Sea Unicorns Front Office staff at 860-887-7962.

Sea Unicorns Awarded Organization Of The Year Honors

Led by General Manager Lee Walter Jr., Assistant General Manager Heather Bartlett, and Futures League Manager of the Year Kevin Murphy, Norwich picked up the Organization of the Year award to cap a championship season both on and off the field at Dodd Stadium. The 2023 season marked just Norwich’s third in the Futures League since making its move official in April of 2021.

Not only did the Sea Unicorns win 39 games en route to their first-ever Futures League regular-season and postseason championships in August, but they finished the summer increasing attendance by about 21 percent from 2022, which had seen a 53 percent rise from 2021. The 52,739 fans that attended regular-season games in Norwich were the second-most in the league and put them in the top 25 percent of all summer collegiate teams nationwide.

“Norwich did an outstanding job this year both on and off the field,” Paolucci said. “The way they have transitioned from pro ball to summer collegiate ball without losing any of their dedicated fan base has been really impressive. The leadership of Lee Walter Jr. and Kevin Murphy was second to none, and it brought them their first FCBL championship. I was just really impressed how they ran that organization from start to finish this year.”

The 2023 season in Norwich was punctuated by three postseason games played before lively crowds at Dodd. The Sea Unicorns bested the in-state rival New Britain Bees in a best-of-three semifinal series before capturing the title with a 2-1 victory in an epic winner-take-all game against second-seeded Vermont.

On the field, 10 Sea Unicorns were selected as Futures League All-Stars, including third baseman Dean Ferrara (Fairfield) 一 the Futures League’s Most Valuable Player whose .422 batting average set a new single-season best in league history 一 and eventual Postseason MVP Johnny Knox (Nichols).

“When we joined the league just before the 2021 season, we knew we had a tough road ahead of us,” Walter said. “Upon being named General Manager in early 2022, I had a three-year plan in mind to grow the fan base back, as well as create a culture that was enjoyable for the team and allowed them to improve as players and people so that we could send them back to their respective colleges healthy and prepared for the following season.

“I expected 2024 to be the year that we were ready to compete on the field and have the fan base there to support a top organization both on and off the field. We were able to beat that timeline by a year thanks to the hard work of our front office staff and Kevin Murphy as our first-year manager,” Walter added. “This award is further proof of that, and we are grateful to Commissioner Paolucci for honoring our organization with this great award!”

Walter and Bartlett completed their second seasons in their current role in 2023. Other front office staff includes Kevin Smith, Reade Kirby and Mike Neville. The new look front office staff is hard at work this off-season, getting ready to provide fans with the best experience to date. So far the Sea Unicorns have announced their intention to celebrate the 30th season of baseball at Dodd Stadium throughout the 2024 season. Stay tuned for more information, and as always, Go Sea Unicorns!

Sea Unicorns 2023 Championship Merch Now Live

Be a part of the celebration! Our championship merchandise honoring our 2023 team is now live. Fans can click the link below to select from a wide variety of options including shirts, long sleeve pullovers, and hats to name a few.

The Sea Unicorns are planning a 2023 championship ring ceremony to honor the staff and players . More details are to follow.

Please note that championship merch is not available inside Dodd Stadium. Merchandise is only live until October 1st. Support your Norwich Sea Unicorns and cash in on this limited time opportunity!

LINK – https://norwichseaunicorns2023.itemorder.com/

Kevin Murphy Returning For Second Year At Norwich Helm; Announced As Pitching Coach For Amherst College

In addition to returning for his second year as manager of the Norwich Sea Unicorns in 2024, 2023 Futures League Manager of the Year Kevin Murphy has been named pitching coach for Amherst College! Murphy spent time as an assistant coach with Quinnipiac University as an assistant baseball coach. He goes back to his pitching coach routes after holding the same spot with Norwich in 2022 before becoming manager this pastseason.

MVDEAN: Sea Unicorns Infielder Dean Ferrara Awarded 2023 Futures League Most Valuable Player

Winning continues to follow the Sea Unicorns even after claiming championship gold on the thirteenth of August. With Johnny Knox awarded postseason MVP for the second year in a row and Kevin Murphy locking up manager of the year, the Corns where not done yet.

Today, Fairfield infielder Dean Ferrara added to the Norwich accolades, taking home the leagues most valuable player award. Primarily playing second, short and third, Ferrara made am immediate impact in the Rose City.

In his first fifteen games, Ferrara collected twenty-five hits, which would only increase his average to a league leading best.

In addition to taking home the MVP crown, Ferrara became the Futures League season batting average record holder with an average of .422. In doing so, Dean beat a six year record held by former Nashua catcher Mickey Gasper, who is in the Yankees organization at the double-a level.

In 154 at-bats, ten doubles where recorded and two triples found their way onto the stats chart. Dean was even able to swipe 17 bases.

On defense, Ferrara was stellar as could be at the hot corner. Snagging line drives on diving plays and having an excellent baseball IQ, Dean endeared himself under the Norwich fans, being giving the nickname “Deanie Houdini”

An instrumental park in the Sea Unicorns championship season, Ferrara now heads back to the Stags taking back the pride of Norwich with him, and MVP hardware.

Fourth Annual Adam Kennan Legacy Golf Tournament Returns In October

This fall, The Futures League will be hosting the fourth annual Adam Keenan Legacy Golf Tournament on Friday, October 13 at Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston, Mass. Proceeds from the annual event go towards the Adam Keenan Sportsmanship & Scholarship Award fund. The tournament is open to the public. We encourage Sea Unicorns fans to signup for a day of excitement and camaraderie as we look to raise money for an excellent cause. The Sea Unicorns, along with the other 7 teams in the Futures League, are currently seeking sponsors for the tournament. If interested in sponsoring or participating in this event, please contact Sea Unicorns General Manager, Lee Walter, via email at [email protected] for more information. Finally, and as always, Go Sea Unicorns!