Bravehearts

Norwich bests Bravehearts at Fitton

Norwich scores 11-9 in a Sunday evening performance

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Bravehearts fell to the Norwich Sea Unicorns 11-9 at Fitton Field on Sunday. This made Norwich’s overall season record rise to 24-15, while Worcester’s record fell to 28-11. Worcester remains the Futures’ League leader in the standings.

Worcester got the scoring started in the first inning, when Daniel Bucciero (Fordham) singled to center field off of Noriwich’s Joseph Castrichini (Stonehill), brining both AJ Guindon (Wheaton) and Tyler Bastunas (Drury) home.

Norwich immediately followed with a run of their own in the second, when Zack Kovalchik (Sacred Heart) hit a homerun.

The Bravehearts continued to score into the second. A run was scored by Kevin Matos (Wheaton) when an error by Castrichini allowed him to cross home. Then, two additional runs were scored, first when Christian Limón (Amherst College) moved up on a balk, and secondly when Michael Florides (Hofstra) scored on a sac-fly by Guindon. This made Worcester’s lead 5-1.

Norwich soon rallied through the third, when the team scored a total five runs, giving them the lead over Worcester at 6-5. Three runs were scored with two hits and a sac-fly, all hit off of the Bravehearts’ Griffin O’Connor (Assumption). The final two runs of the inning were scored when Kovalchik doubled, brining both Jackson Ferrigno (North Alabama) and Zachary Zyons (Bryant) home to take the lead.

The Sea Unicorns continued to add runs against the Bravehearts throughout the game, scoring two additional runs in the fourth and three additional runs in the fifth. This made the score 11-5.

The Bravehearts eventually came to challenge New Britain’s lead in the sixth. This happened when Guindon doubled off of Robert Zawacki (Western New England), bringing Matty Warren (Palm Beach Atlantic) and Limón home, followed by Guindon scoring on a single by Bastunas. This made the score 11-8.

The ‘Hearts tacked on an additional run in the following inning when Vincent Eramo (Fitchburg) crossed the plate on a single hit off Florides bat. This narrowed the gap to two runs at 11-9. However, this ultimately proved to not be enough to secure the win for Worcester, as two scoreless innings followed, leaving the final score unchanged.

The winning pitcher was the Sea Unicorn’s Teo Spadaccini (Yale), who let up four hits and three runs in just over three innings pitched. The loss went to O’Connor, who allowed six hits and six runs in three innings.

The Bravehearts will play their next game on Tuesday, in an evening performance against the Westfield Starfires at Bullens Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.