Sea Unicorns Show Grit In Doubleheader Sweep Of Worcester
Norwich, CT – The Sea Unicorns sweep a crucial doubleheader against the Worcester Bravehearts at Dodd Stadium, putting the three-time champions right back in the playoff race.
The boys from the Rose City came alive in Game One, giving a great seven-inning game for the home crowd to watch. After a quiet first inning led by both infields flashing the leather, the Bravehearts struck first in the second. With two outs in the inning and Aaron Bock on second, Talen Rosborough smacked an RBI double to left, giving Worcester a 1-0 lead.
Norwich would immediately respond in their half of the second. After two quick outs, a Tyler Jones walk and Bryce Miller single put runners on the corners. David Pengel made Worcester pay, hitting a 2 RBI single to give the Sea Unicorns a 2-1 lead.
The Sea Unicorns tacked on two more runs in the third. One was added through a Jackson Powers RBI single, as he continues to tear up the Futures League. A wild pitch scored Michael Fiatarone to make it 4-1 Norwich.
In the fourth, the Bravehearts made some noise of their own. With two runners on and two out in the frame, John Ramsay hit an RBI single to left, scoring Bock and bringing Worcester within 2 runs.
However, Norwich would pull away in the bottom of the fourth and never look back. The Sea Unicorns scored a run on a bases loaded fielder’s choice, with a throwing error scoring a second run. In the fifth, Pengel hit an RBI single while TJ Baer knocked Pengel in with an RBI single of his own.
The Bravehearts would only be able to score one more run in the seven innings, with a sacrifice fly in the sixth being their final run. Adam Carpenter shut the door for the Sea Unicorns in the ninth by striking out Sepulveda, giving Norwich an 8-3 Game One victory.
A half hour later, Game Two would deliver some more of that same excitement for Sea Unicorn fans. It all started with Eric Mathewson on the bump for Norwich. The Eastford native was dominant all day, pitching 5 innings with 8 strikeouts and only 1 run allowed.
The second inning would be crucial for Norwich, as they created a rally to immediately set the tone early. After loading the bases on a walk, single, and HBP, Pengel walked to score the first run of the ballgame. Kenny Noe would smack an RBI single to shortstop to keep things moving, followed by Henry Ayers walking a run in as well. Carter Grande would be the cherry on top, crushing a 2 RBI double to left as Norwich was up 5-0 by the end of the frame.
Worcester would get a run in the third on an Andrew Schmit RBI single before the Sea Unicorns continued to pile on in the fourth. Back-to-back singles would lead to a John Bureau single, which allowed Ayers to score due to a throwing error. Grande would also come around to score in the inning on a groundout, putting Norwich up a whopping 7-1.
The sixth inning would be the Bravehearts real last chance to survive. With Mathewson out and Jacob Snyder in, a walk and single led to a double steal scoring one due to a throwing error by Norwich. A fielding error by the Sea Unicorns would allow another run to score in the frame before James Anastasopoulos hit an RBI single to make it 7-4.
With the save situation on the line, Sean McGettigan went 1-2-3 in the seventh to officially have the Sea Unicorns sweep the doubleheader in a must win situation to survive.
The Sea Unicorns are now 16-20 on the campaign. Norwich will head to Worcester to finish off their three game set against the Bravehearts on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Game 1
Win – Jacob Schrage (2-2)
Loss – Joey Hagen (0-2)
Time – 2:12
Game 2
Win – Eric Mathewson (1-0)
Loss – Jacob Kline (0-1)
Save – Sean McGettigan (1)
Time – 2:02
written by Mark Benway
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
Monday, July 13th vs Lowell Spinners @ 6:30pm (gates open at 5:30)
Kids Eat Free!
All kids 12 & under will receive a voucher for a hot dog, bag of chips and bottle of water. Can’t get much better than that!
Presented by BTW Plumbing, Heating & Cooling
Tuesday, July 14th vs Nashua Silver Knights @ 6:30pm (gates open at 5:30)
Buy One, Get One Tickets!
It’s a Tuesday two-fer! Purchase any seating bowl ticket and receive a 2nd ticket of equal or lesser value free (free ticket is only valid for the same game).
