Wootton Wows in Sea Unicorns Debut, Leads Norwich to Series-Opening Win
Norwich, CT – Eastern Connecticut State product Matt Wootton paved the way for Norwich in his Sea Unicorns debut Tuesday night against the Lake Monsters. Wootton’s dominant outing helped lead Norwich to their 3rd win of the summer and back above .500 through their first 5 games.
The Norwich offense supplied Wootton with early run support, plating a run in each of the first 3 innings against Vermont starter Eli Fleming.
In the first, Anthony Tirado came around to score after drawing a leadoff walk. The center fielder took second after an errant pickoff attempt from Fleming and later stole 3rd. Jayden Novak gave Norwich the lead on an RBI groundout to short.
Command trouble continued in the 2nd for Fleming and aided Norwich in producing their second run of the night. A hit batsman and a walk provided the hosts with immediate traffic on the bases. Despite allowing early traffic, Fleming settled down retiring the next two batters. Chace Chaplin delivered with a pair of outs, lining a single into right field to score Gavin O’Brien, but unfortunately Norwich ran into the last out of the inning as Warden was ruled out at 3rd after attempting to go 1st to 3rd.
A leadoff walk once again harmed the Vermont starter in the 3rd as Tirado came around to score to extend the Norwich lead to 3. CJ Nolan cracked a double to the wall in left field to bring home Tirado, who began the frame with his 2nd walk of the night.
The early run support was all Norwich would need as Wootton stymied the Vermont offense to just 1 run over 6 innings. Wootton’s masterful performance earned him Pitcher of the Night honors. The only blemish in the outing came in the 4th inning when Vermont capitalized on a leadoff double from Bryan Richman.
The bullpen finished the job for Wootton holding Vermont hitless in the final 3 innings. Vermont managed just 2 baserunners against the Norwich bullpen as the Sea Unicorns secured the victory to open the 3-game series with the Lake Monsters.
Norwich will look to win the series tomorrow when Cam Thomas takes the mound opposite Brady Bendik. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Join the Norwich Sea Unicorns and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum for a fun and unique educational experience! Enjoy playing Native American games on the concourse and learning about local Native American history. There will be animal hides, a traditional Native American drum circle, and more!
Win – Matt Wootton (1-0)
Loss – Eli Fleming (1-1)
Save – Gio Conte (S, 1)
Time – 2:24
Written by Adam Plager