The Norwich Sea Unicorns returned to their winning ways on Thursday night, taking down the Road Warriors 4-2. Norwich has now won 6 of their last 7 contests and stand alone atop the Futures League standings, holding a record of 26-16.
The Sea Unicorns drew first blood in the home first, grabbing an early 1-0 lead. Kaiden Dossa extended his hitting streak to 5, cracking a leadoff single into right field out of the reach of the Road Warriors second baseman. The Yale product quickly advanced into scoring position after swiping second base. AJ Soldra continued his All-Star campaign, driving home Dossa courtesy of a double down the line in right field. Road Warriors starter Christopher Lowe received some help from his battery mate Tommy Goonan, who threw out a pair of base runners in the 1st to help escape the frame with minimal damage.
Connor Lane extended the lead for the host in the 4th inning, smashing a leadoff home run to left field. Lane’s solo blast provided Norwich with a 2-0 lead. The home run for the Norwich DH is his 1st round tripper of the summer, and the 12th for Norwich as a team.
The Road Warriors responded with a pair of runs in the 6th to even the scoring after failing to produce with the bases loaded in the 5th. Norwich starter Vincent Borghese escaped trouble in the previous frame, navigating around a one out bases loaded threat. The visitors loaded the bases thanks to three singles. Borghese responded with a strikeout of the Road Warriors catcher, and later a diving catch by center fielder Kaiden Dossa preserved the lead for Norwich.
In the 6th inning, the Road Warriors offense came to life, breaking up the shutout. Carter Bentley began the inning with a leadoff base hit and later advanced into scoring position after stealing second. A one out base hit by Joe Muzio cut the Norwich lead in half and ended the night for Borghese. Norwich elected to make a call to the bullpen for reliever Ryan O’Connell. Unfortunately, a pair of wild pitches by the 6’6 right-hander brought home the tying run. The Quinnipiac product quickly found his form, striking out a pair to keep the ballgame knotted at 2.
Once again, the Sea Unicorns used some 8th inning magic to propel their way to a victory. Owen Turner began the home 8th by dumping a single into center field. A fielder’s choice groundout moved the Norwich catcher 90 feet. Kaiden Dossa delivered the go-ahead marker for the Sea Unicorns clobbering, his 1st triple of the summer to the wall in left. Lane provided some insurance for Norwich with his 2nd RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly to center field.
Michael Belcher secured the victory for Norwich, firing 3 innings of shutout baseball. The bullpen for Norwich held the Road Warriors offense to just one hit over the final 3.2 innings. Overall, the bullpen fanned 7 including 5 from Belcher. The victory for the Prospect, CT native is his 1st of the summer and has now lowered his ERA to 3.68 this summer.
The Sea Unicorns are back in action tonight to begin a home and home series with the Worcester Bravehearts. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST from Fitton Field.
Win- Michael Belcher (1-0)
Loss- Aidan ODonnell (2-2)
Time- 2:07