BOSTON – The Norwich University softball team split another Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader with Simmons College on Sunday afternoon at Daly Field. 

Norwich (2-12, 2-4 GNAC) won Game 1 by a score of 4-1 before dropping the nightcap 5-4 to the Sharks. 

Sophomore pitcher Rachel Johnson (Stockbridge, Vt.) posted another brilliant performance in the circle in Game 1, throwing a complete game five-hitter and allowing no earned runs while striking out 10 and walking four. 

Johnson improved to 2-3 on the season and picked up her second straight complete-game victory after throwing a one-hitter vs. Albertus Magnus on Saturday. 

Sophomore Naomi Rinaldo (Middlefield, Conn.) went 5-for-8 at the plate with a run scored to lead the Cadets' offense on the day. 

Simmons (9-12, 4-4 GNAC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Norwich responded with a run in the third and fourth to take a 2-1 lead. The Cadets then tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for insurance tallies. 

Sarah Perry (New Bedford, Mass.), Emily Oliver (Sagamore Hills, Ohio), Makenna Wade (Pensacola, Fla.), Katie Reid (Gold Canyon, Ariz.) and Rinaldo each had two hits in Game 1 to lead a balanced offense. 

Oliver, Perry and Justina George (Wallingford, Conn.) each notched RBIs in the victory. 

In Game 2, Simmons used a three-run fifth inning to break a 2-2 tie and then held on for the win in the late innings to salvage the split. 

Perry had two more hits from the leadoff position and scored two runs from the leadoff position for the Cadets. Madison Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Olivia Bussiere (Northfield, Vt.) had a RBI as well. 

Lauren Del Vacchio went 4-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Simmons' offense. Oliver took the loss for Norwich, giving up four earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three to fall to 0-7 on the year. 

Norwich outhit Simmons 11-9, but it wasn't enough to pick up the sweep for the Cadets in their best offensive output of the season, tallying double-digit hits in both games. 

Norwich continues league play on Wednesday, April 12 when it travels to Anna Maria College for a GNAC doubleheader starting at 6:30 p.m.