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Bravehearts Edge Norwich
In a game that featured two controversial home run calls, the Bravehearts edged the Sea Unicorns 7 to 6 Friday night at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.
The wildness started in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Norwich first baseman Sean Swenson (Quinnipiac) hit the third pitch thrown by Bravehearts’ pitcher Gavin Price (Fairleigh Dickinson) deep to right field. The ball appeared to bounce on the warning track and one-hop the wall, but after a short discussion, the umpires ruled that it had cleared the fence and hit the secondary-level fence in the air for a home run, cutting the Worcester lead at the time to 3-2.
Bravehearts’ Manager Alex Dion argued the call and was ejected, demonstrating his displeasure by removing second base from the infield and tossing it near the third baseline.
The Bravehearts were on the other end of a controversial call in the top of the 7th when TJ Wachter (Fordham) launched a shot to left-center field that appeared to hit the wall halfway up. The umpires ruled that the ball cleared the fence and struck the secondary-level fence, and Wachter was credited with his second home run of the season to increase the lead to 5-2. Norwich Manager Devin Belenski briefly argued the call before retreating to the dugout.
Wachter went 3-4 in the game, driving in four runs and scoring twice. His bases loaded single in the 8th inning drove in Matty Warren and Sal Grinstead, providing the ultimate game-winning runs in the victory. The sophomore from Wading River, NY is now hitting .400 (8-20) on the young season with four extra base hits.
Bravehearts’ starter Tanner Smith (Harvard) worked quickly and pitched his way out of jams in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings while striking out six batters along the way and scattering six hits in his four innings. Worcester’s Gavin Price earned the victory in relief, and Jared Kapurch (St. Petersburg) and Sean Scanlon (Holy Cross) closed out the game with 2.1 innings of 2-run relief. Scanlon earned the save and worked out of the final jam in the 9th inning by getting Ray Leonzi to ground out to 2nd with the tying run on second base.
The Bravehearts scored their first run in the 2nd inning when Andrew Chronister (Shippensburg) led off the inning with a single to left, moved to third on two walks, and crossed the plate on a double play groundout by Matty Warren (Palm Beach Atlantic). Chronister has now recorded at least one hit in each of his first five games played this season. He is hitting .400.
Bravehearts’ DH Cam Seymour (Southern Maine) added a single and RBI in the 5th inning.
The Bravehearts move to 6-2 on the season with the victory and return home on Saturday, June 4 for a 6:30 PM matchup against the Brockton Rox.
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