O’Connell dazzles in relief, leads comeback win
Having a final line of six innings pitched, one run allowed on two hits, and 11 strikeouts isn’t out of the ordinary for a starting pitcher. Tuesday night at Dodd Stadium, that was the final line for Sea Unicorns reliever Ryan O’Connell in Norwich’s 9-6 win over the Westfield Starfires.
Having a final line of six innings pitched, one run allowed on two hits, and 11 strikeouts isn’t out of the ordinary for a starting pitcher.
Tuesday night at Dodd Stadium, that was the final line for Sea Unicorns reliever Ryan O’Connell in Norwich’s 9-6 win over the Westfield Starfires.
O’Connell entered the game in the fourth inning with Norwich ahead 6-5. He allowed a run in his first inning of work, then proceeded to shut down the statistically best offense in the Futures League for the next five innings. His performance earned him FCBL pitcher of the night.
It’s a continuation of a brilliant start to the season for the St. Bonaventure product. O’Connell now sports a 1.52 ERA for the season across 17.2 innings, striking out 26 batters while walking five.
The game was a two-part story, with the first act much shorter than the second.
Westfield jumped on Norwich starter Alistair Morin for five runs in the first inning, chasing him out of the game after he retired just two batters.
Max Moss started on the bump for the Starfires and needed just 24 pitches to get through the first two innings, though he did allow a run in the second after a Hunter Yaworski double was followed by a debut triple for Andrew Bianco.
Then in the bottom of the third, the Sea Unicorns put a five-spot of their own on the board, taking their first lead of the night at 6-5. Both teams traded jabs in the fourth inning with Westfield scoring one and Norwich answering with two runs.
The bats went quiet the rest of the night, with both teams combining for one run from the fifth inning on.
While O’Connell was the main character, Norwich’s offense put up some of its best numbers of the season. Eight of the nine Sea Unicorns starters got a hit, and four of them had multiple knocks, with Nick Sturino and Ray Leonzi nabbing three hits apiece in the win.
The Sea Unicorns finish off their four-game homestand Wednesday night as the Worcester Bravehearts come to town. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.