NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich softball team entered Wednesday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with Lasell looking to solidify their chances of qualifying for the GNAC Tournament.
The Cadets (17-13, 12-10 GNAC) took a big step toward assuring themselves of a bid after narrowly missing last season with a 7-4 win in Game 1 and then a 15-7 mercy-rule shortened win in Game 2 over Lasell.
In Game 1, Lasell (10-28, 9-15 GNAC) took a 1-0 lead with the very first batter of the game as Amanda Szidat launched a solo home run off Norwich starting pitcher Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.).
However, buoyed by the bat of sophomore utility player Briana Day (Yelm, Wash.), Norwich responded with three runs in the second inning and two more in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead at the end of three frames.
Day tied the game at one with a RBI single to plate Noel Byers (Iron Mountain, Mich.) after she led off the inning with a double. After Kaylie Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) singled, sophomore Maggie Walsh (North Plainfield, N.J.) gave the Cadets their first lead of the game with a RBI single to score Day.
Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.) capped the inning with a RBI single that scored Miller to make it 3-1 Norwich. After Baita shutdown Lasell in the top half of the third, Day came through again by blasting her third home run of the season to also score Byers and push the Cadets' lead to 5-1.
The Lasers didn't go away as they battled back to score a run in the fifth and then two more in the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-4. However, Norwich regained a three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth with freshman Kelly Travers (Whitman, Mass.) lacing a two-run triple to make it 7-4.
Miller relieved Baita to start the top of the seventh and retired the side on four batters to earn her first save of the season and secure Baita's ninth victory of the year. Baita threw six innings and surrendered three earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven.
In Game 2, Norwich broke a 7-7 tie by exploding for eight runs all coming with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning to mercy-rule Lasell. After retiring Maggie Walsh and Kaylie Miller to start the Cadets' half of the fifth, it all caved in for Lasell, starting with an error by its third baseman.
The error allowed Norwich a second chance and the Cadets converted as they batted around to score eight runs, capped by Belcher's two-RBI double down the left field line that scored Walsh and Miller to end the game. Byers also had a two-run home run for her second round tripper of the year.
Every Norwich batter had at least one hit the Cadets as they pounded out 15 hits and converted on seven Lasell errors to secure the series sweep. Travers led the offensive onslaught with a 3-for-3 day with three runs scored and one RBI. Day, Belcher, Miller and Melissa Rome (Enfield, Conn.) each had two hits while Day, Byers and Belcher all had two RBIs.
Miller earned the win for Norwich after surrendering four earned runs on five hits and five walks while striking out one. She is now 6-7 on the season.
The Cadets moved into sole possession of sixth place in the GNAC standings after Saint Joseph (Conn.) was swept to fall to 12-12 in league play. Norwich will clinch a playoff spot with one more victory in its final four games. The Cadets play their regular season home finale on Saturday when they host Anna Maria at noon in another GNAC doubleheader. The AMCATS have yet to win a game this season. NU then closes the regular season the following day at St. Joe's (Maine) with first pitch in Game 1 scheduled for 1 p.m.
NOTES: Norwich is now hitting .289 as a team and has five players above .300 … sophomore Briana Day continues to provide a boost for the offense as she played in her 12th straight game and already ranks second on the team in home runs (three) and fifth in RBIs (13) … The Cadets are one win away from tying their best win total since 2009 when they went 18-17.
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