STANDISH, Maine – The Norwich University softball team wrapped up the 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season on Sunday with a split against previously first-place Saint Joseph's (Maine) at Bailey Field.
The Cadets (20-14, 15-11 GNAC) reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2004 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory in the opener, before the Monks rebounded to take the nightcap 9-0 in five innings.
Freshman pitcher Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.) continued her masterful week picking up the victory in Game 1 after going the distance and giving up one earned run while scattering five hits. She also struck out eight while walking three to improve to 12-6 on the year and pick up her fourth win of the week.
After four scoreless innings, Norwich was able to piece a few hits together in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore third baseman Maggie Walsh (North Plainfield, N.J.) opened the inning with a double down the right field line. Kim Comtois (Northwood, N.H.) bunted Walsh over to the third and then sophomore catcher Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.) brought her home with a RBI single. Erin Clark (Bradford, Vt.) kept the inning going with perfect execution on a hit and run to single home Belcher and give Norwich a 2-0 lead.
St. Joe's Maine (30-5, 23-3 GNAC) got one run back in the bottom half of the fifth with Emily Leverone driving home Kim Jordan after Jordan started the inning with a leadoff double.
However, that's all the Monks could muster on offense against Baita as Norwich snapped a five-game losing streak to St. Joe's Maine as well.
The Monks bats woke up in Game 2 though as SJC scored six runs in the second inning to pull away from NU early en route to a 9-0 shutout victory in five innings.
St. Joe's (Maine) pounded out 11 hits led by two from Lindsey Moore, including a two-run single in the bottom of the first and a RBI triple in the second.
Leverone, Maddie Kluna, Heather Tripp and Connie Grovo each added RBIs as well for the Monks.
Kayla Vannah picked up the victory for St. Joe's after going all five innings, giving up four hits and one walk while striking out three. Sophomore pitcher Kaylie Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) was saddled with the loss for Norwich after being touched up for eight earned runs on 11 hits and two walks while striking out four.
Norwich closed the regular season winning five of its last six games. The Cadets enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed and they will host seventh-seeded Suffolk on Tuesday, April 24 in the play-down round of the GNAC Tournament. The winner of Tuesday's single-elimination game advances to the final six and the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
The Cadets dropped both games to Suffolk this year by scores of 3-1 and 5-0. The Rams' Sarah Chasse dominated both ends of the doubleheader, picking up a win and save on the mound while striking out 20, as well as providing the game-winning two-run hit in the first game.
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