CONNECTICUT – Connecticut Husky Evan Menzel and North Florida Osprey Seth Alford both recorded a pair of hits on the night, but the Norwich Sea Unicorns scored all their runs in the fifth inning as they beat the Westfield Starfires 5-2, Thursday, at Dodd Stadium.
The Starfires fall to 6-13 on the year while the Sea Unicorns snap a three-game losing streak to get to 8-9.
The Starfires struck first in this matchup in the second inning. American International Yellow Jacket Josh Frometa reached first on an error and then swiped second to get into scoring position.
A couple of batters later, Boston College’s Ben Williams was at the dish and the Hanover, New Hampshire native hit a ball through the middle infield for a base hit on the first pitch he saw to score Frometa and give the Starfires a 1-0 advantage.
Westfield doubled up its lead the following inning after FIU Panther Alex Ulloa hit a triple on his first pitch. The Starfires continued the aggression early in the count when Northeastern Husky Anthony Ruggiero attacked the first pitch he saw to drive home Ulloa with a base hit as the Starfires held a 2-0 lead.
Incoming Cornell freshman Connor Niemiec was on the mound for his fourth start of the season and had a standout performance early on. After allowing two baserunners in the first, the Westfield native then retired eight in a row.
The Sea Unicorns got a few baserunners in the fourth and fifth innings, but Niemiec remained poised on the mound and got out of both innings without any damage done, carrying a no-hit outing into the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth with the game still at 2-0, the Sea Unicorns drew a walk, then got their first hit of the night with a single to left. Norwich then opened the floodgates on the Starfires in the frame with three singles, several walks, and plenty of wild pitches. When it was all said and done, the Sea Unicorns sent 10 batters to the plate and were out ahead 5-2 at the end of the sixth, despite just three hits.
After the fourth, the Starfires struggled to find their groove offensively. Up until the ninth inning, Menzel was the only one to reach with his single in the sixth, which was quickly wiped out with a double play.
Into the ninth, still trailing 5-2, the Starfires threatened with a single from Menzel, a walk drawn by Frometa, and Alford earning his second base knock of the night with a single to juice the bases and bring the winning run to the plate with two outs.
However, a four-pitch strikeout stranded three runners, and the Sea Unicorns got the home win.
Ulloa, Ruggiero, and Williams were each 1-for-4 on the day, with Ulloa getting his first three-base hit of the year and the third of the season for the Starfires while Ruggiero and Williams both had a run batted in.
Herkimer Community College product Caleb Martineck went 1 ⅓ innings on the mound in a relief appearance, not allowing a run or any hits, striking out two in the outing.
The Starfires will continue their road trip with a two-game series up in Burlington against the Vermont Lake Monsters. Game one will be June 20 at 6:35 p.m.
Tickets to all Starfires home games can be found at www.westfieldstarfires.com.
