STANDISH, Maine - The Norwich University softball team saw its 2019 season come to a close with a 9-4 loss to Saint Joseph's (Maine) on Tuesday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs.

Norwich (14-15) fell behind 5-0 and was never able to fully recover as the Cadets lost to the Monks for the third time this season in the GNAC Tournament First Round. 

Junior shortstop Makenna Wade (Saint Johns, Fla.) launched a three-run home run for her first dinger of the year to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the top of the fourth inning. However, that's as close as the Cadets would get as the Monks tacked on two more runs each in the fifth and sixth inning to pull away for the victory.

The Cadets committed three costly errors that led to four unearned runs, including two in the Monks' big five-run second inning. 

Norwich had 10 hits overall in the game with two each from Katie Reid (Gold, Canyon, Ariz.), Brittany Vandergroef (Lodi, N.J.) and Kaylee Blanchard (Worcester, Mass.).

Seniors Madison Miller (Patterson, Ga.), Naomi Rinaldo (Middlefield, Conn.) and Emily Oliver (Sagamore Hills, Ohio) each had one hit in their final appearance in the Maroon & Gold uniforms. 

The Class of 2019 helped lead Norwich to three GNAC Tournament appearances in their four seasons with all three collecting over 100 career hits. 

Oliver took the loss in her final appearance in the circle, throwing six innings and giving up five earned runs on 12 hits. She finished the season with a 10-8 record as a pitcher.