By Sam Trumbley
(New Britain, Conn.) The New Britain Bees came up short against the Norwich Sea Unicorns, losing 13-4 in the 2025 Futures Collegiate Baseball League Championship and dropping the series two games to one.
Camden Righi (UConn/Wethersfield, CT) led the way offensively with two hits and two RBI. Julius Rosado (Rutgers/South River, NJ), Easton Masse (Boston College/Manchester, CT), George Slauson (Saint Anselm/Plymouth, MA), and Brennan Staubley (Southern CT State/Plainville, CT) each recorded a pair of hits. The Bees’ defense, which had been relatively clean during their postseason run, recorded four errors and allowed seven unearned runs.
Ty Davis (Bryant/Bristol, CT) got the start for the Bees. He would battle into the fifth inning before New Britain went to their bullpen, ultimately allowing four hits and five runs (one earned) across 4.2 innings pitched, walking four and striking out three.
The Bees struck first, jumping ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first. A one-out walk from Jake Risedorf (Southern New Hampshire/Barkhamsted, CT) followed by back-to-back singles from Colin Crowley (Winthrop/Southington, CT) and Slauson loaded the bases. A wild pitch allowed Risedorf to score, then Staubley drove in Crowley with an RBI groundout.
The Sea Unicorns were held hitless through the first two innings, but would get some action with two outs in the third, cutting the Bees’ lead in half with a walk and two singles. They loaded the bases, but Davis worked his way out of the jam, leaving New Britain ahead 2-1.
The Bees would answer back in the fourth with a three-hit inning. Singles from Masse and Rosado would set the stage for Righi, who drilled a two-out, two-run double down the right field line.
Norwich would explode with four runs in the next half inning, all unearned and all with two outs, eventually knocking Davis out of the game. Devin DiVita (Southern New Hampshire/New Hartford, CT) would enter in relief, allowing the fourth and fifth runs to score for the Sea Unicorns, putting the Bees behind 5-4. DiVita recorded the final out of the fifth before delivering two more clean innings, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Both offenses slowed down in the back half of the game. The Bees strung together some hits but were unable to bring runners home, stranding the bases loaded in the sixth and leaving two runners on in the seventh. In total, New Britain stranded 12 runners on base.
The Sea Unicorns extended their lead to 7-4 when they led off the eighth with four straight hits off of Zach Zajac (RPI/Cromwell, CT), who entered in relief of DiVita. A wild pitch brought in another run, and another hit would extend Norwich’s lead 10-4. Zajac only recorded one out, allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits. Fayz Baig (Long Island/Marlborough, CT) allowed a double and a sac fly that would drive in three more, putting New Britain behind 13-4.
Carson Morgan (New Haven/Vernon, CT) pitched a clean ninth inning, but the Bees were unable to get anything going offensively in their final at bats.
The Bees finish the 2025 Futures League season as runner-up, reaching the championship for the first time in franchise history.