Sea Unicorns Drop Game 2 in Vermont
Burlington, VT – The Sea Unicorns have an absolute gut-wrenching loss, blowing one of their biggest leads of the season to the Vermont Lake Monsters.
The Sea Unicorns offense pounced right away on the Vermont pitching staff in the first, with a walk and a single bringing Michael Fiatarone to the plate with no outs. Fiatarone smacked an RBI single to center, driving in the first run of the game. With one out, a Taylor Kaufman HBP loaded the bases before TJ Baer made them pay with a 2 RBI single to give Norwich a 3-0 lead.
After both teams went down 1-2-3 in the second, the Lake Monsters notched their first run of the game in the third. After reaching base on a fielder’s choice, Tyler Wiltsey would steal second and advance to third on a throwing error. Hunter Strohm would bring him in on an RBI single to make it a 3-1 Norwich game.
A quiet fourth inning would erupt into a loud fifth, with the Sea Unicorns looking to build on their lead. Back-to-back singles and a throwing error would put both runners in scoring position with nobody out. Fiatarone would answer immediately, continuing his fantastic season with a 2 RBI single and make it a 5-1 Norwich lead. Although Matt Park would follow that with a double play, the Sea Unicorns wouldn’t be stopped there. Back-to-back walks and a double steal would put two runners in scoring position once again, where Dylan Cimini would answer the call and score himself a 2 RBI single of his own. At the end of the frame, the Sea Unicorns had full control of their destiny sitting with a 7-1 lead.
In the seventh, the Sea Unicorns would once again get some action going, this time being all about Fiatarone. After starting the inning with a leadoff walk, Fiatarone would advance all the way around the diamond and score on three wild pitches to put the team up 8-1 after their half of the seventh. With everything looking great for The Rose City, the tide would begin to shift.
In the bottom of the seventh, Patrick Shrake would reach base safely after striking out due to a throwing error. Back-to-back singles by Vermont would end up scoring Shrake before a groundout from Strohm would score another run, making it a 8-3 Sea Unicorns lead.
The Lake Monsters offense would officially wake up for good in the eighth, putting Norwich’s back against the wall. After one quick out in the frame, a Thomas Moss single would immediately cost the Sea Unicorns, as he would score on a Travis Stroh RBI triple. Shrake would reach base safely on a fielder’s choice, with Stroh out at home. However, the Sea Unicorns would struggle to get that third out in the inning, as more damage would come across to score on a Zach Geertsma two-run home run. Wiltsey would follow that up with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on an Elias Huber RBI single to bring Vermont within one run at 8-7.
The Sea Unicorns offense was gone, going down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The Lake Monsters, on the other hand, were the complete opposite. James Henshon hit a leadoff single before two quick outs put Vermont down to their final out. However, self-inflicted damage from Norwich would end up costing them the game. Henshon would steal second and advance to third on a throwing error before scoring on a wild pitch, tying the game at 8. Another single and walk would put two runners on before Norwich got out of the inning still tied.
The tenth inning would be no change for the Sea Unicorns, going down 1-2-3 once again. Vermont would quickly answer, advancing the man on second with a groundout before scoring Wiltsey on a Strohm RBI single to win the ballgame 9-8.
The Sea Unicorns are now 11-13 on the campaign. Norwich will round out their series in Vermont on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET.
Win – Brady Lane (3-0)
Loss – Matt Shampine (0-2)
Time – 3:38
written by Mark Benway
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Monday, June 29th vs Nashua Silver Knights @ 6:30pm (gates open at 5:30)
Kids Eat Free!
Back-to-back weeks of free meal Mondays! All kids 12 & under will receive a voucher for a hot dog, bag of chips and bottle of water.
Presented by BTW Plumbing, Heating & Cooling
Wednesday, July 1st vs Lowell Spinners @ 6:30pm (gates open at 5:30)
Midweek Ballpark Bundle
Wednesday nights will become your favorite night of the week with our brand new bundle for the summer! The bundle allows fans to purchase a premium seat and 2 hot dogs for just $15. Can’t beat that deal!
