THREE-PEAT COMPLETE

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
No. 3 New Britain Bees vs. No. 4 Norwich Sea Unicorns
Wednesday, August 13: at New Britain 1, Norwich 0 (10)
Friday, August 15: at Norwich 5, New Britain 4 (12)
Saturday, August 16: Norwich 13, at New Britain 4

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — The Norwich Sea Unicorns are back(-to-back-to-back) on top of the Futures League.

After splitting two nail-biting games to open the best-of-three Futures League Championship Series earlier this week, fourth-seeded Norwich used an eight-run eighth inning to top the third-seeded New Britain Bees 13-4 in Saturday's winner-take-all affair at New Britain Stadium and become the first team in league history to win three consecutive titles.

Norwich not only rallied back from a 1-0 deficit to win the series, but trailed 2-0 and 4-1 before rattling off 12 unanswered runs in the deciding game. While New Britain had a 13-12 advantage in the hit column, two defensive errors in each of the visitors' multi-run innings proved costly.

Sea Unicorn designated hitter Bryce Detwiler (UConn) earned Postseason Most Valuable Player honors after recording his second straight multi-hit game and third of the past week. A .381 hitter across the five-game run this week, Detwiler went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI, two walks and a stolen base on Saturday. 

First baseman Chace Chaplin (Yale), right fielder Gavin O'Brien (UMass) and third baseman Connor Scanlan (Fairfield) also had multiple hits and contributed to multiple runs for Norwich. Chaplin and O'Brien each drove in two, while Scanlan crossed the plate three times.

Three straight one-out baserunners in the first inning helped to give the Bees a 2-0 lead. Right fielder Jake Risedorf (Southern New Hampshire) started the line with a walk, and after third baseman Colin Crowley (Winthrop) and first baseman George Slauson (Saint Anselm) hit consecutive singles, a wild pitch brought in Risedorf for the game's first run and left fielder Brennan Staubley (Southern Connecticut) doubled the lead on an RBI grounder. 

After New Britain catcher Easton Masse (Boston College) nabbed a potential base stealer to end a second-inning threat, Norwich did get a run back in the third when Chaplin knocked a two-out, opposite-field RBI single through the left side. 

The one-run game was short-lived, though, as Bees center fielder Cam Righi (UConn) continued his stellar postseason with a two-out, two-run double inside the right-field line to extend the lead to 4-1 in the fourth. The big hit plated Masse and shortstop Julius Rosado (Rutgers), who both singled to give the hosts two runners on with one out. 

An inning later, the game began to turn Norwich's way. Scanlan reached on a one-out error and charged around on Chaplin's double to left, while Detwiler sent an opposite-field single through the right side to bring the Sea Unicorns within 4-3. 

Norwich relievers Justin Gouin (Hartford) and Frank Spirito (UConn) turned in scoreless outings of five and four outs apiece in the middle innings, setting the stage for the offense to deliver a knockout blow in the eighth. Twelve Sea Unicorn came to the plate during the eight-run frame, which is tied for the highest-scoring frame in Futures League Postseason history.

O'Brien and catcher Clay Hartje (Johns Hopkins) traded places on back-to-back doubles to get the big inning started, and pinch hitter Chase Taylor's (UConn) own RBI hit brought in another run. After a wild pitch scored Taylor, Detwiler continued his big series with a two-run single to left to up the score to 10-4.

A New Britain pitching change did not slow the inning down, as Walsh reached on an error and second baseman CJ Nolan (Sacred Heart) nearly cleared the left-field fence on a two-run double high off the wall. O'Brien hit a sacrifice fly to right to conclude the scoring.

After being pulled from his Friday start at Dodd Stadium in the first inning, Norwich ace Matt Wootton (Eastern Connecticut) pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and worked through a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to initiate the celebration. Walsh fielded Rosado's ground ball at shortstop for the championship-clinching out.

Sean Connolly (Stonehill) earned the victory for Norwich, pitching three innings of two-run ball in relief of starter Cooper Maher (Northeastern).

On the New Britain side, five players posted multi-hit games including Righi, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI. The reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut had two hits in the last four of the Bees' six postseason contests. Starting pitcher Ty Davis (Bryant) saw four of his five runs allowed go down as unearned across 4.2 innings.

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