PROVIDENCE, R.I.- In their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) postseason competition in three years, the Norwich Baseball team opened double elimination competition against the hosts from Johnson & Wales. In the end, the Cadets would claim their first win in the GNAC Tournament since Apr. 27, 2000.

The Wildcats opened the scoring in the home half of the first, but Norwich would jump ahead in the third. To start, Jon Ringer (Cupertino, Calif.) drew a free pass, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Once in scoring position, John O'Connor (Southington, Conn.) brought him home with a single to put the Cadets on the board. The following batter, Geffen Franus (Leesburg, Va.), laced a double down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position for Brock Carpenter (East Berlin, Pa.) who brough around Franus and O'Connor punching a hole in the right side of the infield to give the Cadets the lead.

A see-saw battle ensued, as JWU regained the lead in the bottom of the third, but Norwich answered immediately with Dillan Garza (San Antonio, Texas) making his way around the bases on a stolen base, then a throwing error with Owen Silk (North Haven, Conn.) also coming home. The Wildcats answered again in the home half of the fourth with a run of their own, but they could not keep Norwich at bay with Michael Sabasteanski (Ashburn, Va.) bringing home Carpenter on an RBI groundout to reclaim the lead once again for the Cadets.

The score would remain until the seventh when the Wildcats took advantage of a fielding error knotting the score. With the game hanging in the balance, the Cadets would take the lead for good in the eighth. With one down, Tyler Callahan (Arlington, Mass.) singled, and would eventually move over to second. After a Garza walk, Ringer singled up the middle to bring home a sliding Callahan for the eventual winning run.

It was an all-around solid effort on the mound for Norwich. To start, Jordan Talbot (Belchertown, Mass.) allowed two earned runs in five innings. After Talbot, the bullpen was lights out with Noah Carpenter (Herkimer, N.Y.), James Campbell (Havertown, Pa.), and Matt Ingraffia (Lake Grove, N.Y.) combining to allow one run on two hits in four innings of work. At the plate, Callahan (3-4, run scored), O'Connor (2-5, RBI, run scored), Franus (2-5, 2 runs scored) shined.

The win will pit Norwich against the victors of game two, the University of Saint Joseph at 2 PM on May 4 back in Providence. A win would place the Cadets in the pod final on Sunday, while a loss would place them in a win or go home scenario Saturday at 5 PM.