Bravehearts

Worcester, MA— The Worcester Bravehearts fell short in the first home run derby finish of the season to the Norwich Sea Unicorns Tuesday night at Fitton Field. 

The loss drops Worcester to 5-5 while Norwich moves to 5-7. 

Norwich’s Colton Bender (Quinnipiac) defeated the Bravehearts’ Alex Neff (Dayton), hitting seven home runs to Neff’s three. 

A two-run home run by Bryan Loriga (Elite Squad Academy) in the first inning put Norwich up 2-0, also scoring Kaelen Culpepper (Kansas State). Culpepper would score again when Kyan Lodice (Kansas State) brought him home on another two-run shot in the third. 

The Bravehearts literally walked their way back into the game in the bottom of the third. Five walks helped to score Sebastian Salado (Palm Beach Atlantic), Andrew Selima (Merrimack), Tayven Kelley (Penn State), and Christian Siciliano (Southern Maine), tying the game 4-4. 

Worcester took the lead the next inning on a Siciliano putout that scored Neff, who had reached base on a double. Rico Riley (Jackson State) homered in the sixth to give the Bravehearts a 6-4 lead. 

Back-to-back doubles by Matt Malcom (Eastern Connecticut State) and Tremayne Cobb (Hartford) cut the Bravehearts’ lead to one. A Dakota Harris (Polk State) error scored Cobb, off the bat of Tyler Wells (New Haven). The score remained 6-6 through the 10th, setting up the derby. 

The Bravehearts head to Pittsfield tomorrow to take on the Suns for a 6:35 road matchup.