WEYMOUTH, Mass. (August 8, 2024) — For the second consecutive summer, the top two teams in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League standings have met on the path to a championship.
The top-seeded Norwich Sea Unicorns and second-seeded Westfield Starfires will compete in the 2024 Futures League Championship Series, with the opener set to be played at Bullens Field in Westfield on Saturday, August 10.
Norwich looks to become the fourth team in Futures League history to win consecutive championships, but the first since the Worcester Bravehearts were winners in both 2018 and 2019. Westfield is making its first-ever championship appearance in its sixth season of existence.
After winning its second consecutive Futures League regular-season championship, Norwich claimed a three-game semifinal series victory over Vermont in a rematch of last season’s title series. Shortstop Alex Irizarry (Quinnipiac) powered the Sea Unicorns’ offense with home runs in back-to-back games as part of a 4-for-11 series with seven RBI, the league-high total in the postseason to date.
In Thursday’s series-clinching, 10-3 win, Irizarry crushed a first-inning grand slam to lift Norwich a 4-0 lead that it would not relinquish. The relief trio of Gavin Hawkes (Rider), Gio Conte (UConn) and Callen Powers (UMass) threw five combined scoreless innings to finish the game. Hawkes totaled 3.1 shutout innings in the series, earning the win in relief as Vermont evened the series with a 7-2 Tuesday win in Burlington.
Third baseman Nick Tomasetto (Rutgers) and center fielder Kaiden Dossa (Yale) finished with four hits apiece for Norwich in the opening playoff series. Dossa also went deep and scored two runs on Tuesday.
Westfield punched its ticket by clinching two semifinal round wins over New Britain in less than 24 hours, completing the series sweep with a 4-0 Tuesday shutout in which left-hander Jake Jachym (Keene State) pitched eight shutout, four-hit innings with six strikeouts to earn the victory after posting five during the regular season.
The Starfires’ series-opening, 8-5 win on Monday was one for the ages, swaying their way on a walk-off grand slam by catcher Jayden Novak (College of Charleston) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Novak recorded a Futures League postseason-record six RBI and a 2-for-5 line for the game.
Left fielder Danny Hussey (Central Connecticut) led the Starfires with a 4-for-5 performance in game two and finished the series going 6-for-9 with a double, home run and three runs scored. Shortstop Kyle Garbowski (Quinnipiac) added two hits and two RBI on Tuesday.
Norwich won six of the eight regular-season meetings between the teams, including six of the last seven. Sea Unicorn outfielder and 2024 Futures League All-Star Game MVP AJ Soldra (Seton Hall) was a key contributor in the head-to-head series, going 8-for-19 with two doubles, two triples, four RBI and six runs scored over six games.
On the Westfield side, infielder Jackson Haker (Central Connecticut) and catcher Cameron Papetti (Bryant) each had five RBI against top-seeded Norwich. Papetti knocked out a pair of homers.
The playoff schedule and results is as follows:
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
No. 1 Norwich Sea Unicorns vs. No. 2 Westfield Starfires
Saturday, August 10 - 5 p.m. - Norwich 5, at Westfield 3
Sunday, August 11 - 1 p.m. - at Norwich 5, Westfield 4
Sunday, August 11 - 6 p.m. (if necessary) - Dodd Stadium/Norwich, Conn.
SEMIFINAL RESULTS
Series #1: No. 1 Norwich 2 games, No. 4 Vermont 1 (4-5, 7-2, 10-3)
Series #2: No. 2 Westfield 2 games, No. 3 New Britain 0 (8-5, 4-0)
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