A Walkoff Wednesday

A walkoff walk on Education Day at Dodd Stadium secured the Norwich Sea Unicorns their second consecutive walkoff win. The Sea Unicorns closed out their homestand with 3 straight wins, and have improved to 4-1 overall, through their first 5 games.

Norwich opened the scoring in the third inning after shortstop Alex Irizarry set the stage with a one out triple to the right field wall. The triple for Irizarry was his first of the summer and the first for any Sea Unicorn in 2024. Irizarry came in to score following a fielder’s choice ground out put in play by Brennan Hyde. New Britain answered back with a pair of runs in the top of the 4^th to take a 2-1 lead.

Once again Norwich had to battle back at home after surrendering an early lead. The Sea Unicorns offense restored their one run lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Nick Tomasetto began the rally with a leadoff infield single and quickly advanced into scoring position with his 2^nd stolen base of the season. Antonio Ducatelli brought home Tomasetto after delivering his first RBI of the summer. Newcomer Aidan Baglino produced his first RBI, in his debut this summer, with a sacrifice fly to right to give Norwich a 3-2 lead.

Norwich’s lead was short-lived as New Britain punched back with a run in the 5^th to even the game at 3.  The ballgame would remain deadlocked at 3 until the bottom of the 9^th. Both sides received impressive performances from their bullpens, holding the opposing offenses to 5 hits combined. Jimmy Mulvaney made his first appearance of the summer for Norwich and hurled 3 innings of 1-hit baseball while punching out 3. Gavin Hawkes (1-0) earned the victory for Norwich, working two scoreless innings. Ultimately, Norwich broke the stalemate in the bottom of the 9^th with 2 outs on a bases loaded walk to Anthony Tirado to win the ballgame. Tirado has now brought home the game winning run for Norwich in each of their walkoff victories to conclude the homestand.

Defensively the Sea Unicorns committed four errors for the second straight game, and New Britain made two. The aggressive baserunning played a factor once again for Norwich, swiping three bags in the victory.

Today’s road trip to Westfield had been postponed by rain. The make up date is to be determined. The Sea Unicorns will return to Dodd Stadium on Friday (May 31) at 6:30pm for the annual Military Appreciation Night game (presented by V.E.T.S.), as they once again face the New Britain Bees. The game will be followed by a fireworks show presented by Liberty Bank.

A Memorial Day to Remember

The Norwich Sea Unicorns won a thriller on Memorial Day 9-8, walking it off over the Nashua Silver Knights in the bottom of the 10^th.

It was a wild ride at Dodd Stadium on Monday in a ballgame that featured many twists and turns along the way. The offense for Norwich began quickly thanks to Ryan Grace who ripped an RBI single to left field to drive in Christian Stratis with two outs in the first. There was no more scoring until the bottom of the fourth when the hosts cracked the game open with 3-runs on 4 hits sending 9 batters to the plate in the process. Nashua quickly responded with 3 runs of their own in the top of the 5^th, to cut the lead to 1. Similar to Norwich, Nashua did their damage with two outs in the inning. The Silver Knights took advantage of a pair of errors committed by the Sea Unicorn defense.

The visitors tied the game in the 7^th, but Norwich did not waste much time responding, when once again first basemen Ryan Grace came through in the clutch. Grace delivered an RBI double to help the home side restore their lead. In the top of the 9^th, Nashua battled back and claimed their first lead of the afternoon on a 2 out RBI double. Alex Irizarry brought the game level once more in the bottom of the 9^th with a sacrifice fly to even the game at 6.

Extra innings were needed in Norwich to decide the winner. Nashua jumped out front first with a 2 out, 2-run RBI double to grab an 8-6 lead in the top of the 10^th. The monster day at the plate for Ryan Grace continued in the bottom of the 10^th when he clobbered a 2-run home run. Anthony Tirado ended the ballgame later in the frame when he flipped a walk off RBI single into center field to win Norwich the ballgame 9-8.

Jack Ohman was sensational in his first Sea Unicorns appearance, firing 4 innings of 1 hit baseball along witch 7 strikeouts. Overall on the afternoon, Norwich pitching fanned 13 Silver Knights. Bryson Plante earned the victory for the Sea Unicorns and Wellsley de Oliveira suffered the loss for Nashua.

On Wednesday baseball will return to Dodd Stadum when the Sea Unicorns face the New Britain Bees. First pitch is scheduled for 11am EST and gates will open at 10.

Come out and join us for Education Day on Wednesday presented by  Pequot Museum and Research Center.

The Norwich Sea Unicorns were victorious Sunday afternoon 3-1 over Worcester to secure their first win on their home soil in 2024.

It was a classic pitchers duel at Dodd Stadium between starters Nick Pavia of Worcester and Andrew Rondini of Norwich. Both teams’ offenses were held scoreless through the first three innings of play. The visitors cracked through first in the top of the 4^th, but the Sea Unicorns answered right back in the bottom of the inning to draw the game even at 1. Norwich grabbed the lead in the 5^th inning and extended their lead in the 7^th on a Bo Yaworski RBI single into center. The hit for Yaworski was his first of the summer along with his first RBI.

Some defensive miscues from Worcester along with some wild pitches from the Bravehearts’ pitching staff were also a factor in the ballgame. Worcester committed three errors defensively along with a wild pitch and a passed ball. The throwing error made in the 5^th proved to be costly for Worcester as it led to Norwich’s 2^nd run of the afternoon which would stand to be the deciding run.

Coach Murphy’s team continued their aggressive baserunning on Sunday swiping three more bags in route to their second victory of the summer.  On the season, Norwich has now collected 8 stolen bases which leads all teams in the league. Defensively, Norwich played sound baseball headlined by center fielder Chris Carson who was responsible for starting an inning ending double play in the first and a diving catch in shallow centerfield to end the ballgame.

The bullpen for Norwich bounced back nicely working five scoreless innings after a strong start from Andrew Rondini who punched out 6 Worcester batters in his Sea Unicorn debut this summer. Reliever Andrew Gaines earned the victory for the Sea Unicorns in his first Future’s League appearance and Giovanni Conte secured the save (1) in the winning effort for Norwich.

Road Warriors Come From Behind In First Ever Game

The Norwich Sea Unicorns dropped a heart breaker against the Road Warriors in their home opener falling 4-3.

Norwich had a promising start to the ballgame, breaking through for three runs in the bottom of the first. Christian Stratis delivered the first run of the night for the hosts, punching an RBI single into right to drive home Alex Irizarry. Small ball helped manufacture the rest of the offense in the inning when Brennan Hyde scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to two. The aggressive baserunning continued with a successful double steal scoring Stratis.

The Road Warriors cut into the early Sea Unicorns lead scoring a run in the 5^th, and another in the 6^th, to trim the lead to 1. The visitors erased the Norwich lead in the top of the 8^th, on a bases loaded wild pitch with 2 outs, to even the score at 3. Norwich came close to restoring their lead in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch when they attempted to score the runner all the way from second, but was ruled out at the plate.

A sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning completed the come from behind effort for the visitors. The Sea Unicorns threatened in the bottom of the ninth but stranded the potential tying run on 2^nd and winning run on 1^st.

After a big first inning the Norwich offense was held off the scoreboard the rest of the way and held to 7 hits. Defensively Norwich committed three errors to the Road Warriors’ one.

On the mound, Justin Marks had an impressive night in his first start of the summer, tossing 5 innings and allowing 1 run while striking out eight. Offensively, Alex Irizarry continued his hot start to the season recording another multi-hit performance.

Jason Bickford earned the victory for the Road Warriors, and Callen Powers suffered the loss. Dominic Monico recorded the save to help secure the first win in league history for the Road Warriors.

Tomorrow afternoon the Sea Unicorns will look to bounce back when they host the Worcester Bravehearts. First pitch is scheduled for 4pm EST. Come out and join us for our Sunday Funday with Postgame Kids Run the Bases and Have a Catch in the Outfield. Children 12 & under are invited on the field following the game to Run the Bases one time and Have a Catch in the Outfield with their families for 15 minutes.

Baseballs for Have a Catch are presented by: CT DOT

Sunday’s are also our First Mate’s Club Days

The First Mate’s Club is open to children 12 & under. As a member, you will receive a ticket to every Sunday home game, receive a t-shirt and a credential to show off your membership in style, receive discounts at concessions and merchandise stands on Sunday’s, as well as participate in a season ending ice cream social the last Sunday of the regular season.

Presented by: K & H Equipment of Plainfield

The defending Future League Champions opened the 2024 season with a come from behind victory against the New Britain Bees.

Norwich came out swinging to start the ballgame sending seven batters to the plate in the first inning and breaking through for 3-runs to grab an early 3-0 lead. Ryan Grace started the scoring for the visitors cranking an RBI double into right field. Brennan Hyde followed with an RBI double of his own to extend the lead to three.

New Britain responded with 3-runs in the home half of the first on a 3-run home run to erase the early Sea Unicorn lead. The 3-3 stalemate was short lived thanks to Alex Irizarry who wired a go-ahead single into right field to restore the lead for Norwich.

The early see-saw battle would continue in the bottom of the 3^rd when the Bees answered with a pair of runs to take their first lead of the ballgame 5-4. Norwich battled back in the top of the 7^th inning and took the lead for good with three runs on four hits. The Sea Unicorns added some insurance in the 9^th inning with three more runs to secure a 5-run lead heading to the bottom of 9^th.

Offensively Norwich received contributions throughout their lineup with seven different players recording at least a hit and multi-hit nights from five different players. Nick Tomasetto and Alex Irizarry helped lead the offensive surge in New Britain, each collecting 3 hits in the ballgame. Tomasetto finished his opening night with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI’s. Alex Irizarry and Brennan Hyde also had a pair of RBI’s and scored a pair of runs to lead the charge offensively.

On the mound the Sea Unicorns had an impressive night from their bullpen tossing six scoreless innings to the set stage for the come from behind effort on night one of the 2024 season. Giovanni Conte earned the victory for Norwich allowing 1 hit while striking out 5 in 2.2 innings. Tiernan Powers secured the opening day victory for the Sea Unicorns with his first save of the summer no hitting New Britain in 1.1 innings of work to close it out for Norwich.

Tomorrow night the Sea Unicorns will open their season as they welcome the Road Warriors to Dodd Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 EST with live pre-game music on the concourse beginning at 4:30 and postgame fireworks to follow the game. Come out and join us tomorrow night as we celebrate 30 seasons of baseball at Dodd Stadium!

The 2024 Eastern Connecticut Conference Baseball Tournament returns to Dodd Stadium beginning on Wednesday, May 22nd with four Quarterfinal Round games from the Division 1 bracket. This season, the ECC moved to a two division set up for its postseason tournament with Division 2 Quarterfinals being played at the higher seed on Wednesday. Both divisions will then play their Semifinal Round games at Dodd Stadium on Thursday, May 23rd and the Championship Round games on Friday, May 24th.

The daily schedule for each day will be as follows:

Wednesday, May 22nd- 11am, 1:30pm, 4:00pm, 6:30pm

Thursday, May 23rd- 11am, 1:30pm, 4:00pm, 6:30pm

Friday, May 24th- 4:00pm, 6:30pm

Pairings for each day will be available on the ECC website http://www.eccathletics.org/ and will be updated on the Norwich Sea Unicorns website as soon as possible. Tickets for the ECC Tournament are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Tickets may be purchased through gofan.co and search Eastern Connecticut Conference. There will be no cash transactions available at the Dodd Stadium gates. ECC baseball  T-shirts will be available for $20 while supplies last.

The Dodd Stadium concession stands will be open. There will be NO OUTSIDE food, beverage or coolers allowed and bags are subject to check at the gates. There is NO TAILGATING allowed in the Dodd Stadium parking lots. For Wednesday’s first two games only, all parking will be in the gravel lot. We also request that spectators remain off of the dugout tops and the playing surface at all times for safety.