NEW LONDON, Conn.- The Norwich University Baseball team was defeated in walk-off fashion 5-4 at the hands of Coast Guard Saturday afternoon at Nitchman Field.

The Cadet bats came out of the gate hot. Back-to-back, two out singles by Abel Oropeza (Whittier, Calif.) and Hayden Roberge (Middlesex, Vt.) in the top of the first set the stage for Ryan Miller (Westhampton, N.Y.). Miller would hit a deep drive to right field for Norwich's second home run of the early season and a 3-0 lead.

The Bears would scratch across a couple of runs to reduce their deficit to one, however they struggled to mount consistent offense against starting pitcher Matt Ingraffia (Lake Grove, N.Y.). In seven innings of work, Ingraffia only allowed the two runs, struck out nine, walked two, and was consistently pounding the strike zone with Norwich holding a 4-2 lead by the end of his outing. 

In the top of the ninth, the Cadets had an opportunity to extend their lead with the bases loaded. However, Coast Guard wiggled out of trouble, before plating three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the victory.

On deck for Norwich is their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener with a trip to Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Saturday March 25. The twin bill gets underway at 1 PM.