2017 SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Senior Matt Sirois (Southington, Conn.) of the Norwich University baseball team stroked two home runs on the afternoon but the Cadets posted back-to-back losses against the Lasers from Lasell College. 

Sirois went yard against Lasell in the first game, a 9-7 Cadets loss, before homering against the Lasers in a narrow 3-1 loss to conclude the regular season. Norwich finishes the regular season with a 12-22 overall record and a 6-8 mark against Great Northeast Athletic Conference foes. 

The Cadets will await official word of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference postseason berth with several league contests to be played on Sunday. Norwich is in the hunt for its first playoff appearance since the 2014 campaign. 

In the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Norwich trailed by a 3-0 score before a big third inning propelled the Cadets to a 4-3 lead. With two runners on base with two outs, sophomore Mike Lesco (Somers, Conn.) hit an infield single to third base, scoring the first run of the game for the Cadets. The big blow came from Sirois who stroked a deep three-run home run to left-center field. 

The Lasers countered in the top of the fourth inning with three runs as David Marsell picked up a two-RBI single before Robert Cutone delivered an RBI single up the middle to create a 6-4 advantage for the visitors. The tandem of Marsell and Cutone came through once again for Lasell as two-separate singles drove in a total of three runs. 

The Cadets scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning and had the tying runs on base, but Norwich fell by a 9-7 margin. Freshman Brady Doherty (Sandwich, Mass.) began the frame with a single before senior Brandon Pedley (Northfield, Vt.) delivered a double to center field. Lesco followed with an RBI single before Sirois drove in a run with a hit through the left side. 

Freshman Eamon Smith (Rollinsford, N.H.) plated another run for Norwich, singling to right field to drive in Lesco while placing runners at first and second. The shortstop, Hector Coscione, moved to the mound for the Lasers and collected his second save of the year, inducing a first-pitch fielders' choice to end the contest. 

Lasell's Daniel Petr earned the victory, improving to 3-3 after yielding four unearned runs across 4 2/3 innings of action. Senior Kaleb Smith (Dover Foxcroft, Maine) allowed five earned runs across five innings of work, striking out four Lasell batters. The Lasers picked up the victory despite leaving six runners on base and committing three miscues, all at shortstop. 

In the second game of Sunday's double dip, the Cadets struck first with a long home run by Sirois that cleared the left-field wall by a healthy margin. The Lasers knotted the score at one in the top of the fifth inning as three-straight bunts followed a lead-off single, scoring the game-tying run of a squeeze bunt play with one out. 

Skylar Beckerman led off the top of the sixth inning for Lasell with a base hit to right field. The big blow in the contest came by the next batter, Dom Mascolo, who lined a home run to left field to create a 3-1 lead for Lasell. Coscione once again entered the game in relief for the Lasers – he struck out three batters in 2 1/3 innings, earning his second save of the afternoon. 

Freshman Andrew Fisher (Tewksbury, Mass.) was saddled with the loss for Norwich, allowing three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings of work. Justin Webb picked up his first victory of the year for Lasell, earning the win after pitching a scoreless fourth inning. Matt Haskell started for the Lasers, striking out two batters and allowing one earned run in three innings. 

Norwich sophomore Kevin Lynch (Randolph, Mass.) led the Cadets with two hits in four at-bats. The Cadets left eight men on base in the contest and committed back-to-back errors to begin the game, but Fisher pitched around the early defensive troubles by delivering a scoreless inning.