NORTHFIELD, Vt.- Amidst the elements, the Norwich Softball team took to their home field for the first time this season Wednesday afternoon when they battled intrastate foe Vermont State Lyndon to a split.

The Hornets opened game one by getting a run in the top of the first, but the lead was short-lived as the Cadets responded with two runs in the home half of the frame. Hailey Williams (Tamaqua, Pa.) and Madison DeCota (Strafford, N.H.) set the tone with back-to-back singles. The two executed a double steal, putting runners on second and third, leading to an RBI groundout by Courtney Thomas (Strafford, N.H.), scoring Williams. The following hitter, Maren McGinn (Georgia, Vt.), plated DeCota with an RBI single to complete the scoring in the first.

In the third, Lyndon grabbed the lead, but the Norwich offense erupted in the bottom of the fourth, where eight runs came around. With one down, Williams started things off by shooting the right centerfield gap with a double. After DeCota reached base, Williams came home on a wild pitch, while DeCota scored on a groundout. McGinn laced a two-out double, coming home on a second straight double by Emily Munson (Angleton, Texas) before coming home on an RBI single by Rachel Kempf (Warwick, R.I.). Kelcie Petrone (Redding, Conn.) brought Kempf home with an RBI single, putting two on for Adelette Gutierrez (Cameron, N.C.). Both runners came home on a bases-clearing triple for Gutierrez, who was brought home by Williams to cap off the scoring in the inning.

The Hornets answered with a run in the fifth inning, and the Cadets threw up a four-spot in the sixth, starting with a ground rule double for Kempf. A walk to Petrone put runners on second and third with Gutierrez driving home Kempf and Williams plating Petrone. Gutierrez came home on a wild pitch prior to DeCota scoring on a ground rule double by Thomas to end the game early with an eight-run margin.

Norwich was led by many valuable contributors at the plate in their first win of the season, and first in the second stint of Jacqueline Patts '00 as Head Coach, including Williams (4-4, 2 Runs, 2 RBI), DeCota (3-4, 3 Runs), Thomas (3 RBI), Kempf (3-4, 2 Runs, RBI), and Gutierrez (2-4, 2 Runs, 3 RBI). In the circle, McGinn starred, only allowing three baserunners in three innings, earning her first win of the season.

The Cadets picked up where they left off to start game two, opening things with three runs in the first. With DeCota on, Thomas laced a ground-rule double down the left field line with one down. DeCota came home on a wild pitch before McGinn hit a two-run home run to left, giving Norwich an early 3-0 advantage.

After scratching across a run in the second, the Hornets took the lead in the third, where they plated three runs. The two sides traded runs, as the Cadets answered with DeCota coming home on a wild pitch after a leadoff triple in the home half. A Lyndon home run made it 7-4 in the fourth, but the Cadets stayed close, making it a two-run game in the bottom half.

Through the driving snow, play continued in a two-run contest. After the snow abated, the first two Cadet hitters in the bottom of the sixth before the outfield was deemed too slippery to continue, giving Lyndon the victory with DeCota coming to the plate. In the contest, Williams (2-4), McGinn (2-3, Run, 2 RBI), and Gutierrez (2-2) recorded multi-hit games while McGinn once again starred in relief, not allowing a Hornet to reach base.

The Cadets will open divisional play in their next contest when they travel to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division foe New England College.