Unicorns Defeat Mammoths in Sudden Victory
UTICA, Mich. – The Utica Unicorns (20-13) and Westside Woolly Mammoths (19-13) battled to a 3-3 tie in 9 innings Thursday night at UWM Field, with the Unicorns winning in sudden victory.
Utica struck first in the bottom of the fourth. Ryan Enos delivered an RBI double to put the Unicorns on the board before Joey Winters added a sacrifice fly, giving Utica a 2-0 advantage. Enos finished with a hit, run and RBI, while Winters went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Unicorns received an excellent start from Nick Cosentino, who kept Westside off the scoreboard through 5.1 innings. Cosentino surrendered just two hits and one walk while striking out five.
Westside finally broke through in the seventh, but Utica quickly answered. Alex Harrell launched a solo home run with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, his second homer of the season, restoring the Unicorns’ two-run advantage at 3-1. Harrell led the Utica offense with a 2-for-3 performance, two runs, a home run, RBI and walk.
The Mammoths refused to go quietly. After a scoreless eighth, Westside rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth to even the game at 3-3. Dante Morton drove in both runs as part of a night in which Westside managed just five hits against Utica pitching.
Neither team could push across the deciding run in the 9th, leaving the game deadlocked at 3-3 going into sudden victory. Utica took the win after getting the third out before the Mammoths could score a run. Utica outhit Westside 10-5, while neither team committed an error. The Unicorns’ pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts over 10 innings.
The sudden victory format is as follows: a coin toss will take place at home plate between the managers of both teams. The home team will call their selection as the umpire tosses the coin. The winner of the coin toss will select whether they will take the field defensively or bat in the inning. The team at bat will remain the same batting order as the previous inning with the hitter making the last out placed at first base. If the team scores a run, they win. If they are held scoreless, the victory goes to the team on defense.