Early Offensive Surge Leads Norwich to Friday Night Victory in Front of over 4,000
The Norwich Sea Unicorns continued their winning ways on Friday night, posting a 7-3 victory over the Road Warriors. The victory keeps Norwich in a deadlock for 2nd in the Futures League standings, with the New Britain Bees, each holding a record of 22-15.
The Sea Unicorns offense went to work immediately, striking for 3 runs in the first and adding a pair in the second to jump out to an early 5-0 lead. In the first, Kaiden Dossa and AJ Soldra ignited the Norwich offense with a pair of singles to give Norwich runners at first and second with no outs. Sebastian Mueller continued his dominance at the plate, delivering an RBI double to drive home Dossa and Soldra to give Norwich a 2-0 lead just 3 batters into the night. A passed ball advanced Mueller 90 feet to 3rd and he was instantly brought home thanks to Chris DiPrima, who slapped a base hit up the middle. After allowing 3 runs 5 batters into the ballgame, Road Warriors starter DC Brown was able to escape the 1st without any further damage.
Norwich continued their early offensive success in the 2nd, adding a pair of runs on 3 hits. Aidan Baglino drew a leadoff walk and later advanced into scoring position with his first swiped bag of the summer. With one away in the frame, Dossa was aggressive on the first pitch he faced, flipping it into left field to produce the 4th run of the ballgame for Norwich. A throwing error propelled the Yale product into scoring position and similar to the Sea Unicorns leadoff hitter, Soldra took advantage of the first pitch he faced, wiring it into center field to bring home Dossa. Soldra wasted no time travelling to 2nd with his 11th stolen base of the summer, but was later cut down at the plate trying to score on a base hit from Mueller into right field. Brown retired the next batter he faced to escape further damage, but Norwich had built a 5-0 lead through 2 innings.
Sea Unicorns starter Hector Alejandro began his outing in dominant fashion, holding the Road Warriors offense scoreless through his first 3 innings of work. The UCONN product continued to cruise to begin the 4th retiring the first two batters he faced in order before running into trouble. Three consecutive hits for the Road Warriors cut the Norwich lead to 3. Alejandro finished his night surrendering a pair of runs on 5 hits while striking out 4 across 4 innings of work.
After a fast start, Norwich was held to 2 hits by the Road Warriors bullpen in the final 5 innings. Norwich plated a run in the 6th thanks to some havoc on the basepaths created by Tirado and Soldra. The Sea Unicorns shortstop began the frame with a base hit, and a walk to Kaiden Dossa provided Norwich runners at first and second with no outs. Soldra hit into a fielder’s choice and as a result Norwich had runners placed at the corners with one out. Next, Norwich successfully executed a double steal to plate their 6th run of the night.
The visitors cut the Norwich lead to 3 once again, with a run in the 8th against reliever Callen Powers. Norwich answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of some command trouble from reliever Dominic Monico, who hit a batter and walked a pair to load the bases. The Road Warriors elected to make a pitching change with the bases full and 2 outs. A wild pitch from the new reliever allowed the Sea Unicorns to restore their 4-run lead.
Kaden Murphy slammed the door shut in the 9th, punching out a pair to help Norwich secure their second straight victory. Vincent Borghese earned the win for Norwich tossing 3 scoreless innings in his debut as a Sea Unicorn.
Norwich is back in action tonight to close out the mini-2-game series against the Road Warriors. The Saturday Entertainment Series continues at Dodd Stadium located at the Hole In The Wall Bar on the first base concourse starting at 4:30pm for live music featuring the Professors of Sweet Sweet Music (POSSM) presented by Yale New Haven Health and L & M Hospital. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST.