Early Lead Not Enough in Wednesday Night Loss at Worcester

Worcester, MA – The Norwich Sea Unicorns were unable to hold onto their early lead Wednesday night, falling 11-7 to the Worcester Bravehearts at Fitton Field. Norwich is now 1-5 over their last 6 contests and are responsible for a 9-14 record through 23 ballgames.

It was a strong start for Norwich, taking an early 3-0 lead in the 2nd. Alec Warden drove in the first run of the night on an RBI double to the left field wall to score Jayden Novak who was plunked to begin the inning. Later, an error from the Bravehearts shortstop that leaked into left field allowed the visitors to add on a pair to increase the lead to 3.

Worcester responded with a run in the home 2nd to trim the Norwich lead to 2. Jackson Marshall kicked the inning off with a base hit to left field. A wild pitch advanced Marshall into scoring position and a one out throwing error from the Sea Unicorns shortstop allowed Marshall to score.

Norwich immediately responded with a pair of runs in the 3rd, building their largest lead of the night at 5-1. Jack Ohman launched a one out double down the left field line to score Chace Chaplin, who walked earlier in the inning. A wild pitch to Alec Warden plated Jayden Novak to provide the Sea Unicorns with a 4-run cushion.

Once again, the hosts battled back, chipping away to trim the Norwich lead to 1 with a 3-run frame of their own. A pair of singles and a walk immediately loaded the bases for Worcester with no outs. Chris Mondesir brought home the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to center. A wild pitch from Sea Unicorns starter DJ Peterson allowed another run to cross the plate, followed by an Evan O’Rourke double to the left field wall to make it a 5-4 ballgame.

CJ Nolan answered for Norwich, cranking a leadoff homerun to start the 4th. UCONN commit Bryce Detwiler followed with a base hit and later advanced into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch. Sea Unicorns first baseman Chace Chaplin added some insurance with a one out single through the drawn in infield defense to score Detwiler from 3rd.

Unfortunately, the Sea Unicorns 7-4 lead would not survive past the 5th inning as the Worcester bats came roaring to life in the middle innings. The Bravehearts trimmed the deficit to two in the 4th on a sacrifice fly from Jaylem Sepulveda, bringing home Cam Papetti, who led off the inning with a double off the left-field wall that came just shy of a home run.

Worcester took the lead in the 5th thank to a 4-run, 2 out rally. Kaleb Woodward began the threat poking a one out triple down the left field line against Norwich reliever Ryan Camp. The Roger Williams product bounced back striking out the next batter he faced to record the 2nd out in the frame. Evan O’Rourke delivered a 2 out single to score Woodward, which ended the night for Camp. Norwich elected to bring in Cooper Maher to end the Worcester threat. Despite the pitching change, the Bravehearts offense continued to roll as Jackson Marshall laced a one out single to score O’Rourke and tie the game at 7. The tie did not last long as Cam Papetti walloped his first of two home runs to give the hosts a 9-7 lead.

The Bryant product added some insurance in the 7th with a towering 2 out blast to extend the Worcester lead to 11-7.

Papetti’s monster day at the plate for the Bravehearts helped power Worcester to a victory and earned him Futures League Player of the Night honors finishing with three hits, 2 home runs, and 4 RBIs.

The Norwich offense had no answers after the 4th inning, being held to 3 hits in the final 5 innings. Aiden Cardoza led the charge for Worcester on the mound, earning the win in relief with three scoreless innings of one-hit baseball and six strikeouts. Cardoza’s efforts on the mound earned him Futures League Pitcher of the Night honors.

Win- Aiden Cardoza (1-0)

Loss- Cooper Maher (0-2)

Time 2:52

Norwich is back in action tonight at Dodd Stadium against their in-state rival New Britain Bees. Luke Cardman (0-1) will look to lead Norwich back into the win column opposite Ben Oliveira (0-1). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

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Written by Adam Plager