Bees Sting Norwich with Big 4th Inning
Norwich, CT – The Norwich Sea Unicorns were defeated 9-4 on Thursday night by their in-state foe New Britain Bees at Dodd Stadium. Last night’s loss is the second in a row, dropping both contests to the Bees, and have fallen 4 games under of .500 holding a record of 18-22.
New Britain opened the scoring in the 1st against Norwich starter Brendan Grady to take an early 1-0 lead. Caleb Miller kickstarted the Bees offense, cranking a leadoff double to the wall in right center field. A wild pitch advanced Miller to 3rd and later scored on a grounder to second.
The score remained the same until the 4th when New Britain broke the game wide open with a 7-run explosion, sending 12 batters to the plate. Back-to-back walks from Norwich starter Grady sparked the rally, and Julius Rosado opened the scoring in the inning wiring a single to left. An error by the Norwich shortstop shortly after loaded the bases and ended Grady’s night.
With the bases full and no outs, Norwich turned to Gio Conte out of the bullpen. Unfortunately, the move was unsuccessful as the Bees offense continued to surge. Conte plunked the first batter he faced to force home a run, and a slow roller to third led to another defensive miscue as Norwich’s throw to the plate was late, extending the lead and keeping the bases loaded.
Conte settled in to retire the next two batters, but Jake Risedorf delivered the big blow, ripping a bases clearing triple to right, stretching the Bees lead to 7. Jack Kane capped the monster inning for New Britain with a bloop single behind first scoring Risedorf from third.
New Britain spotted their final run of the night in the 6th to grow their advantage to 9. Brennan Staubley opened the frame with a base hit up the middle and later advanced to second on a wild pitch. Julius Rosado brought home Staubley with a base hit to center.
Norwich responded with a run in the bottom of the inning on a CJ Nolan 2 out single to left to plate Anthony Tirado, who walked to start the frame.
The Sea Unicorns rallied in the eighth with two outs, striking for three runs against Bees reliever Connor Willett. Jack Byrne reached on an infield single to extend the inning, and Spencer Chard followed with a walk to put two aboard. Aidan Stern sparked the rally, cracking a single into right to score Byrne. Norwich then executed a double steal, allowing Chard to score as Stern swiped second. Chace Chaplin kept the line moving with a single up the middle to drive in Stern, and Charlie Walsh followed with the third straight single of the inning and Anthony Tirado worked a walk to load the bases for Norwich.
With Norwich threatening, New Britain turned to All-Star reliever Zach Zajac to stop the surge. The move paid off, as Zajac needed just one pitch to escape the jam and returned for a scoreless 9th to secure the victory for the Bees.
Win – Matthew McDowell (1-0)
Loss – Brendan Grady (1-2)
Save – Zach Zajac (S, 4)
Time – 3:06
Norwich is back in action tonight to wrap up their three-game homestand with a matchup against the top-seeded Worcester Bravehearts. Matt Tabet is set to make his Sea Unicorns debut, opposite Worcester’s Jason Potvin, who enters the night with a 3-1 record. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Dodd Stadium.
UPCOMING PROMOTION
“Norwich Connect” Jersey Night
The Sea Unicorns will wear special “Rose of New England” jerseys to show their strong connection to the City they call home, featuring three blue sections to signify the Three Rivers of Norwich as well as being emblazoned in the front red section with The Rose of New England!
Presented by: Dime Bank
K Cancer Night
Join the Sea Unicorns in the fight against cancer! On this night, the Sea Unicorns will be selling K Cancer cards for $1 each and all money raised form the sale of these cards will be donated to The ECHO Cancer Foundation to help support the battle against cancer.
Unity in the Community Night
Join the Sea Unicorns as we show our appreciation to many outstanding organizations in the Greater Norwich Community!
Presented by: ProHealth Physicians
Postgame Fireworks
Stick around following the game for a spectacular fireworks show by American Fireworks!
Presented by: Liberty Bank
Written by Adam Plager