(Photo courtesy Billy Croney, Northfield News)

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Johnson & Wales (RI) pounded out 27 hits en route to a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader sweep over the Norwich University softball team on Saturday afternoon at the NU Softball Field.

The two teams looked like they were headed for a split but, Johnson & Wales (27-9, 18-4 GNAC) scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to rally from a 4-3 deficit in Game 2 and take a 6-4 win to clinch the No. 2 seed for the GNAC Tournament.

JWU senior pitcher Taylor Cwalinski fired a complete-game two-hitter to lead the Wildcats to a 9-2 victory in Game 1. She carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning before Norwich junior Melissa Rome (Enfield, Conn.) broke up the no-hit bid with a double. Cwalinski finished with 11 strikeouts and one walk while allowing no earned runs and two hits.

Cwalinski also earned the victory in Game 2, coming on in relief of JWU ace Tayla Gardner in the bottom of the third to shut down the NU offense again, giving up five hits over five innings while striking out six.

Cwalinski also went 4-for-7 at the plate on the day with a RBI and three runs scored, including the game-tying run in the top of the seventh to ignite the three-run rally.

While Norwich (16-16, 11-11 GNAC) had Gardner's number on the mound, tattooing JWU's 17-1 top pitcher for three earned runs on six hits in two innings pitched, the same couldn't be said when she was up at the plate.

Gardner went 7-for-9 at the dish, including a long three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning of Game 1 off NU starter Kaylie Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) to lead the Wildcats' offense on the day. 

Gardner broke a scoreless tie in Game 1 with her ninth homer of the year that keyed a five-run inning for JWU as the Wildcats broke the game open and never looked back. JWU added four more runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by another home run by Jessica George.

NU chipped away with two runs in the bottom of the seventh after Taylor Morris (Haverhill, N.H.) hit a ground ball that went between JWU's third baseman's legs to score Rome and Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.)

In Game 2, both offenses came out blazing. JWU went up 1-0 in the top of the first on Kristen Solari's RBI single to score Gardner. Norwich responded in the bottom half of the inning with Payton Warner (Harwich, Mass.) coming around to score after Rome lined a single into left field that ducked under a diving attempt by the left fielder and rolled all the way to fence.

Norwich took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the second with sophomore Angie Hershberger (Felton, Calif.) ripping a RBI single to score Justina George (Wallingford, Conn.). Warner then delivered the big blow with a bases-loaded single that scored Briana Day (Yelm, Wash.) and Hershberger to stake the Cadets to a 4-1 lead.

JWU countered with two runs of its own in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 4-3 with Cwalinski and Diana Amendolara knocking RBI hits off NU starter Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.).

Both Baita and Cwalinski settled in from there until JWU finally got to Norwich's ace again in the top of the seventh. Down to its last out, Johnson & Wales' Cynthia Proby laced a RBI double into the left centerfield gap to score Cwalinski from second base. Amendolara added another RBI single by beating out a soft grounder to third base to beat Day's throw to the bag and then Caffeso reached on an error by Belcher at shortstop to score Proby.

Norwich threatened in the bottom of the seventh with Warner pounding a double into the gap and then Belcher reaching on a single to put runners on first and third with one out. However, Erin Clark (Newbury, Vt.) popped up to second base and then George grounded out to second base to end the Cadets' comeback bid.

Baita fell to 11-6 on the season after giving up five earned runs on 14 hits and two walks while striking out six.

Norwich will now await the results of the Albertus Magnus/St. Joseph (Conn.) doubleheader scheduled for Monday to see what seed it will be for the GNAC Tournament. The Cadets could end up anywhere from the No. 5 seed to the No. 7 seed. They will play a first-round single elimination game on Tuesday, April 22 against Suffolk, Albertus Magnus or Emmanuel.

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