Standings | Schedule/Results | Stats | FCBL Network
By Benjamin Upson
Last Night’s Games:
Thursday, July 29
Nashua Silver Knights 8, Worcester Bravehearts 3
After extending their lead further into 4th place in New Britain, the Worcester Bravehearts were hoping to carry the momentum into their next game with the Nashua Silver Knights back at home.
The game did not fare well for the Bravehearts. In his last start on July 23rd, pitcher Luke Delongchamp (Boston College) was awarded FCBL Pitcher of the Night after tossing 6 scoreless innings against Norwich as part of a doubleheader. Thursday was not his greatest start as he surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits with 4 walks after 5.2 innings of work, but only 2 were earned.
Nashua got off to a quick start in the 1st inning with 3 runs. Shortstop Connor Hujsak (Virginia Commonwealth University) scored on an error by Worcester catcher Zach DeMattio (Wheaton College). A few batters later, third baseman Patrick Casserly (College of the Holy Cross) took advantage of the error and smoked a 2-run home run to extend the Silver Knights lead.
They added on in the later innings with 2 runs in the 6th and put the game out of reach in the 9th with 3 more runs as designated hitter Sam McNulty (Boston College) and left fielder Will MacLean (UMass) knocked a pair of RBI doubles to give Nashua an 8-0 lead. Worcester did get 3 back in their last half inning, but Nashua walked away with an 8-3 road victory.
Just when we thought that Worcester may have found something in their win over New Britain on Wednesday, it’s back to the drawing board with this home loss. They will stay at home to face the Pittsfield Suns who come into town Friday.
Norwich Sea Unicorns 12, Brockton Rox 0 (7 innings)
There was a change of venue on Thursday as the Brockton Rox once again faced off with the Norwich Sea Unicorns, this time at Dodd Stadium in Connecticut. Norwich has been on a roll at home, seeking their 4th consecutive win there.
This was an impressive performance for the Sea Unicorns on both sides, who put this game away from the start. They scored 7 runs off 7 hits in the 2nd inning, which put the Rox in a massive hole that they could not find their way out of. 7 of their 9 batters posted at least 1 RBI and designed hitter Hunter Yaworski (Mitchell College) and right fielder Korey Morton (UConn)
Morton had a day for them, going a perfect 4-4 at the plate with 3 RBIs that came off of a pair of RBI singles and he is the player of the game. Morton has been a critical piece of the Sea Unicorns offense this week with a game changing 3-run home run against New Britain on Tuesday in a 3-2 victory followed by his efficient offensive showing against a mighty Brockton Rox team on Thursday.
The final score ended up being 12-0 and it went down as a mercy rule. It would not have ended early if it weren’t for starting pitcher Jordan Marot (Franklin Pierce University). In his first start of the season, he tossed 6 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while recording 7 strikeouts.
Marot picks up his first win of the season and jumps to 1-0 with a 1.22 ERA. He may have just made a case to be placed into the starting rotation for the remainder of the season with this performance.
Norwich gains an advantage by closing their gap on the playoff chase with the Worcester loss and picking up a big win over a quality opponent in Brockton. They will look to keep chasing the top 4 teams as they are right back at it again against the Rox on Friday from Dodd Stadium.
Vermont Lake Monsters 1, New Britain Bees 0
It was the start of a 4-game series between the Vermont Lake Monsters and New Britain Bees up at Centennial Field on Thursday. After dropping 4 straight games, 3 of them by just 1 run, New Britain was looking to get back on track against the 1st place Lake Monsters who are a blistering hot 19-2 in the month of July as it is about to wrap up.
There are games during a season where the offense does not click. Tonight certainly qualifies as both teams were unable to produce much in the way of offense. New Britain had entered this game having lost their last 3 games by a combined 3 runs and managed only 4 hits on the night.
Vermont got on the board during the 1st inning with their lone 1 run of the game off a solo home run by second baseman Anthony Stephan (University of Virginia) and was only able to record 3 hits from that point on.
That could only mean one thing, a good old fashioned pitcher’s duel! Ian Parent (Endicott College) started the game for the Lake Monsters, tossing 4 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 New Britain hits and 2 walks with 9 strikeouts. On the season, Parent holds a 1-2 record with a 3.37 ERA in 6 appearances and 2 starts.
The Vermont bullpen backed him up with a strong performance from pitchers Silas Reed (Tufts University), Will Hesslink (Boston College), Isaiah Rhodes (Southern Miss University) and Wyatt Cameron (New England College). Combined they allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk with 12 strikeouts. The entire Lake Monsters bullpen makes up the player(s) of the game.
Despite the loss, pitcher Kevin Seitter (Quinnipiac) did his part for the New Britain Bees, throwing for 5.2 innings of work, allowing just the 1 run on 6 hits, with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. Seitter also hit 50 strikeouts on the season as a result of this start. He falls to 2-5 with a 3.55 ERA on the season in 9 starts.
These two teams will run it back once again on Friday before heading south into Connecticut for a day/night doubleheader on Saturday, including the last NESN game of the season!
Pittsfield Suns AT Westfield Starfires **(CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER)**
The Pittsfield Suns and Westfield Starfires were scheduled to play for the 4th time in the last 3 days on Wednesday at Bullens Field. Inclement weather got in the way and caused this game to be cancelled as the schedule continues to wind down and there is not enough time to squeeze many more games in.
FCBL Nightly Awards:
Player Of The Night: #42 Korey Morton, Norwich (4-4, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI) (UConn)
Pitcher Of The Night: #35 Jordan Marot, Norwich (WIN, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K) (Franklin Pierce University)
Upcoming Schedule:
Friday, July 30
Westfield Starfires (23-26) AT Nashua Silver Knights (17-32) 6:00PM
Pittsfield Suns (28-22) AT Worcester Bravehearts (26-25) 6:30PM
Brockton Rox (29-20) AT Norwich Sea Unicorns (25-29) 7:00PM
New Britain Bees (21-27) AT Vermont Lake Monsters (32-20) 7:05PM
**Stream games on fcblnetwork.com AND the FCBL Network app**
Stay Connected