Knox named MVP as Sea Unicorns capture first FCBL championship
Aug. 13—NORWICH — Johnny Knox started the first game of the playoffs batting seventh for the Norwich Sea Unicorns.
That was the game he won with a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the seventh inning, putting the Sea Unicorns up in their semifinal series against the New Britain Bees.
By Sunday, Knox was batting leadoff for the Sea Unicorns and hearing the chants of the 2,137 fans at Dodd Stadium, who came to see Norwich win the Futures Collegiate Baseball League one-game championship faceoff with the Vermont Lake Monsters.
It was no surprise that Knox was a contributor as the Sea Unicorns won 2-1 to capture their first FCBL title in their third year in the league. The Most Valuable Player, in fact.
"He's so fun. He's one of my better friends so it's really, really cool to see him get (MVP), really cool," said Norwich manager Kevin Murphy, who played alongside Knox at Nichols College. "It's full circle, it really is. He's like my little brother."
Knox scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth inning. He not only reached on an error but sped to second base, then raced home from second on a base hit by Zach Donohue, Donohue's second RBI of the game.
Knox, the 5-foot-9 second baseman, finished the playoffs a scalding 8-for-14. He won the league championship for the second straight season, playing last year for Nashua.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," said Knox, who hoisted the oversized championship trophy, showing it off for the fans.
"You want to play for these (teammates), we've been together for almost three months now. You want nothing more than to win for them so to be able to play my best baseball at the right time for these guys, to me it just means the world."
It is the first time in FCBL history that the usual best-of-three championship series was contested as a one-game playoff, with the collegiate players needing adequate time to return home before heading back to college.
The Sea Unicorns won their semifinal series two-games-to-one over the Bees on Friday, while the Lake Monsters wrapped up their series against Worcester on Saturday, with the semifinals featuring several rainouts.
"That was a little pressure, a little pressure," Murphy said of the winner-take-all format. "But we were ready for it. We stacked all the arms we needed. That kind of helped with the one game; we would have had to spread it out otherwise if we were playing a three-game set."
On Sunday, after yet another delay due to the field conditions at Dodd following a midday rain, the Lake Monsters struck first with a run in the second inning, getting an RBI double to center field by Kyle Lodise to score Jacob Gaudreau, who drew a walk.
Donohue's RBI fielder's choice in the second tied things at 1-1 in the third for the Sea Unicorns, with Donohue (Eastern Connecticut) hustling to avoid a double play.
Norwich made it 2-1 with its run in the fifth and then held off Vermont's best efforts with some clutch pitching and defense.
Right-hander Chris Jenkins (Endicott) came out of the bullpen for the Sea Unicorns to get out of a jam in the sixth, as the Lake Monsters had two on and one out after singles by Jack Winnay and Colby Brouillette. Jordan drew a flyout from Jordan Kang and got Gaudreau on a comebacker to the mound for the third out.
Norwich third baseman Dean Ferrara (Fairfield) ended the seventh, also with a man on, by making a clean pickup of a hard-hit ball and unleashing a bullet to first to get Tommy Martin.
Right-handed reliever Daniel Cohen (Yale) struck out two in the eighth, getting Kang for the third out, and retired the side in order in the ninth to earn the save as the Dodd Stadium crowd celebrated. He pitched three innings, allowing one hit, striking out three and walking one.
Mark Capell (Yale) earned the victory with 3.1 innings of relief. Four Norwich pitchers combined to allow just six hits.
Norwich won the regular-season title with a franchise-best mark of 39-22 to earn the top seed in the playoffs and the home-field advantage. Ferrara won the batting title with an average of .422.
