Comeback Effort Falls Short
The Norwich Sea Unicorns comeback bid fell short against their in-state rival, New Britain Bees, falling 6-5. The loss for Norwich is their second of the season and snaps their 3-game winning streak.
There was no scoring until the top of the 3rd inning when the visitors struck for three runs. The top of the order for New Britain did damage with one out beginning with a hit batsman who was quickly driven in on a RBI triple. Freddy Forgione cranked his 2nd home run of the summer to extend the Bees lead to 3.
The Sea Unicorns cut the deficit to one with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6th. Norwich began the rally with one out when Alex Irizzary drew a walk and Ryan Grace followed with a single into center to give Norwich runners on first and second. A pitching change was made by New Britain once the hosts had back-to-back base runners. Later in the inning Anthony Tirado came through in the clutch delivering a 2-run RBI double to the left field wall to bring home Irizarry and Grace. The double for Tirado was his 1st of the summer and RBI’s 3 and 4.
New Britain immediately responded after Norwich cut the deficit to one with their second 3-run inning of the game. The 3-run 7th inning gave the Bees their largest lead of the night making it a 6-2 game. An error by Norwich opened the door and New Britain was able to capitalize on it thanks to another 1 out triple and was later followed by a double to restore the Bees’ 3-run lead. Kaden Murphy was brought into the ballgame with one out in the 7th to mitigate any further damage. Murphy punched out the first batter he faced to begin his outing but allowed a base hit to center to extend the New Britain lead to four.
The first outing of the summer for Murphy was a bright spot for Norwich. Murphy held the New Britain offense to one hit in 2.2 innings of relief while striking out five. Murphy’s impressive outing allowed Norwich an opportunity to battle back in the late innings.
Norwich chipped away at the four-run deficit scoring a run in each of the final three frames but ultimately came up just short. Norwich threatened in the bottom of the 9th on a rally begun by Garrett Larsen with a one out double to center. Brennan Hyde followed with a single into right to give Norwich runners at the corners. A wild pitch to Alex Irizarry produced the fifth run of the game for Norwich, but that was the closest Norwich was able to come stranding the tying run on 3rd.
Andrew Cutler secured the victory for New Britain earning the save (1) and Benjamin Oliveira his first victory of the summer going 5.1 innings and allowing 2 runs. Teo Spadaccini suffered the loss (0-2) allowing 3 runs over 4 innings while striking out 3. These two teams will battle once again tonight as the Bees will host Norwich at New Britain Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 EST.