With two outs and a 1-2 count in the bottom of the ninth, it seemed like Norwich was done for. However, some late game heroics propelled the Sea Unicorns to a 2-1 win.
Nashua scored in the fourth and continued to stifle the Norwich offense. Although the Sea Unicorns got runners on in all but two innings, they couldn’t get any across. Down by one, heading into the final frame, Kevin Murphy’s squad had a chance to walk-off for the first time all year.
After the initial two batters were retired, the Sea Unicorns’ hopes rested on left fielder Jayson Kramer. The Mount St. Mary’s product was down to his last strike, but reached base on a hit-by-pitch. Then, Fairfield’s Matt Bucciero popped one in the air to right that landed fair. Pinch runner Zac Zyons scored all the way from first on the game-tying RBI double.
The Silver Knights had a leadoff single in the 10th and put a runner on second with just one out. Any scoring opportunity was squandered when third baseman Dean Ferrara converted an impressive unassisted 5-3 double play.
To start the bottom of the inning, second baseman CJ Egrie worked a walk. After two stolen bases, which brings his season total to 27, the speedster stood 90 feet away. With one out, ECSU’s Ray Leonzi lined it back up the middle and brought home the winning run.
Despite a slow day offensively, the Norwich pitching staff helped keep the team alive. Reliever Chris Jenkins gave up just two hits and struck out three in 4.2 innings. It was Holy Cross’ Payton Sutman though, who picked up his first win of the year. The Waterford native tossed two scoreless frames and recorded a pair of strikeouts.
The Sea Unicorns jumped back in the win column and improved to 23-15. Norwich is away from Dodd until Thursday when Brockton comes to town. First pitch is set for 6:30.