NORWICH, Conn. (August 11, 2024) — The party is back on in the Rose City.
Propelled by third baseman Nick Tomasetto’s (Rutgers) walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Norwich Sea Unicorns became the third team in Futures Collegiate Baseball League history to win consecutive championships as they downed the visiting Westfield Starfires 5-4 to complete a sweep of the best-of-three final series on Sunday afternoon at Dodd Stadium.
Two-out offense in the late innings was the key to the title-clinching victory, which was Norwich’s fourth straight in the postseason following a loss to the Vermont Lake Monsters in the opening semifinal game. As a result, the Sea Unicorns are the Futures League’s first repeat champion since the Worcester Bravehearts went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
After left fielder AJ Soldra (Seton Hall) was hit by Westfield reliever Jordan Talbot’s (Norwich) two-out pitch in the Norwich ninth, Tomsasetto greeted left-hander Camden Thomas (Keene State) with an RBI double shot down the right-field line that scored the championship-deciding run from first.
The eighth inning featured a similar story. With Norwich trailing 4-3, first baseman Bo Yaworski (Central Connecticut) hit a game-tying double that scored right fielder Trey Porter (Monmouth) following a two-out walk. Yaworski made his only at-bat count after he entered the game as a defensive replacement an inning earlier.
Soldra was honored as the Futures League Championship Series Most Valuable Player, having driven in four and scored another one of Norwich’s 10 total runs over two games. The left-handed hitter, who was also the Most Outstanding Player of the July 23 All-Star Game held at Dodd, hit a crucial three-run triple in Saturday’s series-opening, 5-3 win at Westfield.
Westfield wasted little time scoring first for the second straight game, tagging Norwich ace Hector Alejandro (UConn) for a first-inning run. After loading the bases on second baseman Julio Solier’s (Boston College) infield single plus an error and a pair of one-out walks, the visitors took a 1-0 lead as designated hitter Trey Cruz (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) delivered with an RBI groundout.
Soldra got Norwich on the board with an RBI grounder in the third after second baseman Nick Sturino (Fairfield) had drawn a one-out walk and center fielder Kaiden Dossa (Yale) lined a single inside the left-field line and advanced on a fielding error. Tomasetto followed Soldra with a walk and stole second, and designated hitter Shaun Callahan (New Haven) turned the score when he ripped a two-run triple to left.
The Starfires took a 4-3 lead while ending Alejandro’s start in the sixth. Three straight baserunners turned into the first run of the frame on a double by catcher Cameron Papetti (Bryant). Third baseman Jackson Haker (Central Connecticut) tied the game on an RBI grounder before center fielder Gianno Merlonghi (Central Connecticut) knocked a go-ahead base hit to center.
As Tomasetto and the Sea Unicorn offense rallied late, the bullpen combination of Gavin Hawkes (Rider) and Mike Poncini (Quinnipiac) threw 3.1 scoreless innings to finish the win. Poncini worked the final two, striking out four while stranding baserunners in both frames.
Talbot was a tough-luck loser for Westfield, allowing just two runs on two hits while striking out four over 5.1 innings in relief of starter Daniel Cantafi (Keene State). The walk-off hit came by the only batter Thomas faced.
For the entire postseason, Tomasetto and Dossa each posted a team-high six hits for Norwich. Dossa also scored seven runs in five games. Soldra’s six RBI were second only to shortstop Alex Irizarry (Quinnipiac), who totaled seven on the strength of home runs in back-to-back semifinal games.
POSTSEASON RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP: No. 1 Norwich Sea Unicorns vs. No. 2 Westfield Starfires
Game 1: Saturday, August 10 - Norwich 5, at Westfield 3
Game 2: Sunday, August 11 - at Norwich 5, Westfield 4
—Norwich wins series, 2-0—
SEMIFINAL #1: No. 1 Norwich Sea Unicorns (37-21) vs. No. 4 Vermont Lake Monsters (29-26)
Game 1: Monday, August 5 - Vermont 5, at Norwich 4
Game 2: Tuesday, August 6 - Norwich 7, at Vermont 2
Game 3: Thursday, August 8 - at Norwich 10, Vermont 3
—Norwich wins series, 2-1—
SEMIFINAL #2: No. 2 Westfield Starfires (34-22) vs. No. 3 New Britain Bees (30-25)
Monday, August 5 - at Westfield 8, New Britain 5
Tuesday, August 6 - Westfield 4, at New Britain 0
—Westfield wins series, 2-0—
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