(Release courtesy St. Joseph Sports Information)

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph softball team swept Norwich in a doubleheader, handing the Cadets their first losses of the season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and breaking their school-record, 19-game win streak Sunday at West Haven High School.

Saint Joseph won by scores of 4-1 and 6-5. The Blue Jays improved to 21-9 overall and 11-5 in the GNAC. Norwich is 19-6 and 14-2. USJ, which has won eight in a row, reached the 20-win plateau for the seventh time in the 20-year history of the program and fourth year in a row. The team record after 30 games is the second best ever, eclipsed only by the 2000 team, which was 24-6 before eventually winning the GNAC tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament.

USJ freshman Patti Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) scattered five hits, walked one and struck out five to earn her ninth victory of the season in the opener. The Blue Jays started quickly, getting two runs in the top of the first (Norwich maintained its position as the home team, despite a location switch for the games). Haley McCall (Lebanon, Conn.) singled to right field, Stephanie Valerio (Wolcott, Conn.) had a bunt single and Emily Hummel (Hebron, Conn.) reached on an error to load the bases. Ashley Gall (Stafford Springs, Conn.) singled to right to score McCall for the first run. Patti Sciglimpaglia then reached on a fielder's choice and Valerio slid in ahead of a throw to the plate for 2-0.

Norwich pitcher Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.) worked out of further trouble inducing two forceouts at the plate and a fly out. USJ pushed its lead to 3-0 in the second. Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.) singled to center, went to second on a ground out, third on a single to left from Valerio and scored on a ground out by Hummel.

Norwich scored its lone run in the sixth inning on consecutive one-out singles by Kelly Travers (Whitman, Mass.), Noel Byers (Iron Mountain, Mich.) and Briana Day (Yelm, Wash.) USJ catcher Mary Sciglimpaglia (Norwalk, Conn.) helped shut down the rally by picking a runner off third base. The Blue Jays tacked on a run in the seventh on back-to-back triples by Gall and Patti Sciglimpaglia. Valerio and Gall each had two hits for USJ; Byers had two hits for Norwich.

In the second game, USJ got on the board against in the first. Valerio reached on a force out and scored on an outfield error to stake the Blue Jays to a 1-0 lead. Day had an RBI-single and Angie Hershberger (Felton, Calif.) an RBI-double in the bottom of the inning to put Norwich up, 2-1.

St. Joseph tied it in the third on a two-out single from Hummel and an RBI-double from Gall. The Blue Jays took the lead for good in the third with two unearned runs to make it 4-2. Mary Sciglimpaglia scored on a groundout by Vigue and McCall had an infield single to plate Sarah Miller (Southington, Conn.) Norwich closed within 4-3 in the bottom of the inning on an RBI-double by Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.).

USJ got two key insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Gall (three hits, two RBI) drove in Valerio with a double and Patti Sciglimpaglia singled home Gall to put St. Joseph up 6-3. Norwich scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh, but McCall snagged a line drive to end the game with Norwich runners at first and second. Erin Clark (Newbury, Vt.) had a sacrifice fly and Belcher had an infield single to drive in the Norwich runs.

Hummel struck out four in four innings for her ninth win of the season and Vigue earned  her third save. Belcher and Hershberger each had three hits for Norwich.

Norwich plays at Rivier Monday in a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m.

 -CADETS-