Norwich Snaps 4-game Skid with Sunday Funday Victory
Norwich, CT – The Norwich Sea Unicorns snapped their 4-game skid on Sunday afternoon, posting a 5-3 victory over the New Britain Bees. The victory improves Norwich to 9-12 on the summer and back into 4th place in the Futures League.
New Britain opened the scoring in the 1st capitalizing on early command trouble from Norwich starter Brendan Grady. After striking out the Bees leadoff man, Grady lost command of the strike zone plunking a batter and walking the next two to load the bases. A passed ball plated the first run of the afternoon for the visitors. Grady minimized any further damage striking out the next two batters he faced.
The Sea Unicorns responded with a pair in the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. Bryce Detwiler kickstarted the offense with a one-out single to center. Aidan Stern followed with a base hit of his own, and Connor Scanlan evened the score by lacing a single up the middle to score Detwiler. Norwich then executed a double steal, allowing Stern to cross the plate and give the Sea Unicorns their first lead of the day.
In the 4th, Norwich extended the lead to 3-1. With two outs, Detwiler delivered again, ripping a double to score Jack Durso, who had doubled to the left-field wall earlier in the inning.
New Britain cut the deficit in half in the 5th. Nolan Risedorf led off with a bunt single, and Easton Masse followed with a base knock to center, creating immediate traffic. Norwich reliever Jack Novak retired the next batter on a flyout to center, but it was deep enough to move Risedorf to third, and he later scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2.
The Bees continued to battle, tying the game in the 7th. Carlos Irizarry poked a leadoff single to right, and a pair of wild pitches by Cooper Maher pushed him to third. Irizarry scored on a sacrifice fly to even the game at 3-3.
The hosts took the lead for good in the 8th, striking for a pair to build a 5-3 advantage. Connor Scanlan clocked a leadoff double to the wall in center field, and New Britain reliever Connor Willett issued back-to-back walks to load the bases for the Sea Unicorns. With the bases full and nobody out, New Britain elected to make a pitching change in an effort to mitigate further damage. Gavin O’Brien put Norwich in front with a sacrifice fly to right, and Spencer Chard added an insurance run with a fielder’s choice groundout.
Gio Conte locked down the victory for the Sea Unicorns, tossing 2 scoreless innings to help lead Norwich past New Britain. The transfer to Sienna College escaped a bases loaded jam in the 8th and worked around a 2 out runner in the 9th to preserve the victory for Norwich.
Norwich is back in action Tuesday night against the Vermont Lake Monsters to conclude the 6-game homestand. Matt Pearch (0-0) will take the mound for the Sea Unicorns opposite Eli Fleming (1-2). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Win – Gio Conte (1-0)
Loss – Connor Willett (0-1)
Time – 2:55
UPCOMING PROMOTION
Featuring 2 for $5 Hot Dogs
Purchase a ticket for this game and receive a free ticket to our next Tuesday home game on August 5
Written by Adam Plager