QUINCY, Mass.-- The No 6 Norwich University baseball team (8-19) took a 5-0 lead into the third inning, but a 10 run Suffolk frame doomed the Cadets as Norwich fell 26-6 in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs.

It was the Cadets first trip to the playoffs since 2010.

The No.3 seeded Rams came out lethargic in the opening innings, allowing Norwich to score twice in each of the first two innings and once in the third.

Sean Gerich (Chicago, Ill.) led off the game by reaching on an error, and then freshman Brian Baker (Keene, N.H.) put down a sacrifice bunt and reached on an error.

After the next two men were retired, freshman Cody Lindell (East Cranston, R.I.) laced a single to left, bringing home both runners, who had advanced on a passed ball.

With one out in the second, Charles Schaub (East Hampton, Conn.) singled and Gerich walked before Baker reached on another sacrifice error, bringing Schaub home. The Cadets fourth run came on a sacrifice fly by senior Dustin Shimkus (Collinsville, Ill.).

The Cadets run in the third came when Norwich executed a perfect first and third play with two outs. Devin Cilley (Tunbridge, Vt.) left when the Rams pitcher came set and got in a rundown, allowing freshman Billy Whaley (Northfield, Vt.) to score before he was tagged out.

But in the bottom half of the inning, it was all downhill for the Cadets as the top hitting team in the conference began to wake up.

Suffolk put up 10 runs in the inning, aided by an error to open the inning. Whaley worked 2.1 innings and took the loss to fall to 3-4 on the year.

Norwich got one back in the top of the fourth to start the comeback effort, but Suffolk kept piling on en route to the blowout win.

Schaub was the star for the Cadets, going 3-3 with two runs scored. 

Norwich will close out its season on Sunday in a non-conference doubleheader with MCLA.

--CADETS--