NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University baseball team hosted Elms College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Garrity Field.

The Cadets swept the Blazers with a 6-5 win in game one and a come-from-behind 17-9 win in game two, thanks to a 15-run fifth inning.

In game one, Norwich broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of the third inning on a bases loaded, two-run double by sophomore third baseman Ryland Richardson (Windsor, Vt.) to take a 2-0 lead.

Senior first baseman Hayden Roberge (Middlesex, Vt.) roped a two-run double to left field, just missing a home run, in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth frame. Senior catcher Connor McGee (Wakefield, R.I.) plated Roberge later in the inning on a single to centerfield for a 5-0 lead.

The Blazers plated a run in the top of the sixth inning to make it 5-1 before junior pinch-hitter Abel Oropeza (Whittier, Calif.) knocked an RBI double to right in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-1.

Elms rallied for four runs in the seventh, but couldn't plate the tying tally as NU held on for the 6-5 win. Freshman pitcher Ryan Miller (Westhampton, N.Y.) had another solid outing on the mound, allowing one earned run on five hits and three walks over five and two-third innings of work. He struck out five batters and improved to 3-3 on the season. Sophomore reliever Dayton Sofka (Olathe, Colo.) picked up his first save of the season after sending down both batters he faced in the seventh inning.

In game two, Elms got on the board first with three runs in the top of the third inning. Freshman second baseman Brock Carpenter (East Berlin, Penn.) came up with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the third and Roberge lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-2 after three innings.

The Blazers added four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 9-2 lead into the home half of the fifth frame.

In that Norwich fifth inning, the Cadet bats exploded for an unprecedented 15 runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Roberge, a two-run single by Miller (who played first base in game two), an RBI double by McGee and an RBI single by sophomore centerfielder Tyler Callahan (Arlington, Mass.).

The game went scoreless over the final two innings and the Cadets took the 17-9 final. Sofka picked up the win in relief, tossing two and two-third innings of scoreless baseball while allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out one batter and picked up his first win of the season.

Roberge finished the game with four RBI and Miller plated three runs, while Carpenter, Oropeza, and Callahan all logged two RBI.

The Cadets improve to 15-13 overall and 5-7 in GNAC play while the Blazers fall to 11-16 and 5-8 in-conference. Norwich has a quick turnaround as the Cadets are next in action on Sunday, April 23rd at Laser for a GNAC doubleheader. Game times are set for 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.