STANDISH, Maine-- Norwich (3-14, 2-6) had its chances to dethrone three-time defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference champion, St. Joseph's College of Maine, but was swept in a conference doubleheader by scores of 8-2 and 5-2 on the road at Mahaney Diamond.

In game one, the Monks raced out to a four run first inning against Cadet starter Brad Hudson (Eugene, Ore.) by capitalizing on four hits and two hit-by-pitches while the Maroon and Gold could muster just seven hits against Monks starter Alex Valenti.

Norwich had a chance to immediately rebound in the top of the second, loading the bases with two outs after a single by Dustin Shimkus (Collinsville, Ill.), a walk to Cody Lindell (Cranston, R.I.) and a single by Charles Schaub (East Hampton, Conn.) but a strikeout ended the threat.

The Monks tacked on two more in the second inning and one in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead before Norwich tallied its first run of the game, when freshman Mike Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.) registered his first collegiate homerun, a mammoth shot to left field.

Norwich picked up one more in the seventh on an RBI single by Sean Gerich (Chicago, Ill.) that scored sophomore Brandon Place (Concord, N.H.). Gerich was the only Cadet to register multiple hits and how sits tied for the team lead in batting average at .300. 

Freshman Jacob Muetterties (Boxford, Mass.) was a bright spot out of the bullpen for Norwich, throwing four innings, allowing just two hits and one earned run.

Game two was tightly contested as the Cadets came out right away with a scoring opportunity against Monks starter Tyler Laverriere after freshman Brian Baker (Keene, N.H.) drew a leadoff walk. Norwich failed to advance Baker to second with the bunt but he got to second with two outs before a Shimkus single moved him to third. But the Monks averted the threat after Lindell flew out to right.

A Norwich fielding error doomed starter Sam Philbrook (Rochester, Mass.) in the bottom of the first, as the Monks picked up three unearned runs right away.

The Cadets came crawling back in the top of the third, picking up two runs on a single by Doyle and an RBI fielder's choice by Shimkus.

St. Joe's picked got one back right away in the bottom half to take a 4-2 lead and ultimately won it 5-2 as Norwich never seriously threatened again.

The Caders will open their first homestand this weekend, hosting Lasell on Saturday and Johnson & Wales on Sunday in GNAC play. 

--CADETS--