VERO BEACH, Fla. – The Norwich University softball team split a doubleheader vs. Castleton on its final day at the Treasure Coast Spring Invitational hosted by Historic Dodgertown.

Junior pitcher Taylor Morris (Haverhill, N.H.) was brilliant in the circle, limiting the Spartans to just two hits and one unearned run to lead Norwich to a 2-1 win in the second game of the twinbill.

Freshman Sarah Perry (New Bedford, Mass.) and senior Melissa Rome (Enfield, Conn.) each had RBI hits for the Cadets to lead the offense. Perry and Payton Warner (Harwich, Mass.) each scored runs in the top of the first inning for the only run support Morris would need.

Norwich (2-6) committed five errors defensively, but the Cadets' defense buckled down behind Morris when it mattered to hold Castleton to just one run coming in the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the opening game of the day, Norwich took an early lead again with three runs in the bottom of the second. However, this time the Cadets couldn't make it hold up as the Spartans tacked on four runs in the top of the sixth inning to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 victory.

Castleton's Jessica Babcock went 4-for-4 to lead the Spartans' offense as they collected 10 hits off Norwich ace Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.).

Junior outfielder Justina George (Wallingford, Conn.) led Norwich's offense with two RBIs, while Warner added another for the Cadets.

Baita struck out 10 Spartans and walked two of them to fall to 0-3 on the season. Castleton's Kayla Wood fired a six-hitter and gave up three unearned runs while striking out nine and walking two to pick the victory.

Norwich returns back to the northeast and opens league play on Saturday, March 21 when it travels to Suffolk for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader.

-CADETS-