FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The Norwich baseball team continued its Spring Break trip Sunday afternoon, falling in both ends of a doubleheader against Susquehanna.
Game 1 – Susquehanna 4, Norwich 3 (8 inn.)
The Cadets struck first in the opener, manufacturing a run in the top of the third inning.
Jack Medhurst (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) reached on an infield single and swiped second before eventually coming home on an error during
Geffen Franus' (Leesburg, Va.) at-bat to give Norwich a 1-0 lead.
Susquehanna evened the score with a run in the fourth, but Norwich quickly answered in the fifth.
Kevin Ohlsen (Shirley, N.Y.) reached after being hit by a pitch and later scored when
Trevor Lussier (Lyndonville, Vt.) laced an RBI double to restore the Cadets' advantage.
The River Hawks pushed across two runs in the fifth to move in front, but Norwich battled back in the seventh when
Dominic Dumont (North Berwick, Maine) launched a solo home run to knot the contest at 3-3.
Susquehanna ultimately prevailed in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Dumont led the Cadets offensively, going 2-for-4 with the game-tying home run. On the mound,
James Vinchetti (Cromwell, Conn.) allowed just one run across three innings in his start, while
Nathan Abbott (Durham, Maine) worked a clean inning of relief and struck out two of the three hitters he faced.
Game 2 – Susquehanna 8, Norwich 5
The River Hawks carried their momentum into game two, scoring in the opening inning before Norwich answered with a two-run frame in the bottom half.
Dumont worked a leadoff walk, and
Michael Davide Jr. (Franklin, Mass.) reached on an error before Dumont scored on a Franus RBI groundout. Davide Jr. later crossed the plate on a passed ball to give Norwich a 2-1 edge.
Susquehanna responded with back-to-back RBI singles two innings later to reclaim the lead and eventually built a 7-2 advantage through seven innings.
The Cadets showed late life in the eighth inning.
Kyle Tanis (Shelburne, Vt.) opened the frame with a single, and
Jon Ringer (Cupertino, Calif.) drew a walk before both runners moved into scoring position. Tanis scored on a passed ball, and Ringer came home on an infield single by
Dillan Garza (San Antonio, Texas) to trim the deficit to two.
Susquehanna added an insurance run in the ninth before escaping a Norwich threat in the bottom half to secure the win.
Franus paced the Norwich offense with a 3-for-5 effort that included a double, while Dumont scored twice and drew two walks. Ringer also reached base twice via a walk.
Out of the bullpen, Abbott (1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 K),
Bryson Bush (Leonard, Texas) (2 IP, 4 H, 2 K), and
Chaz Kosko (Pittsburgh, Pa.) (2 IP, 3 K) provided solid relief work.
Norwich continues its Florida trip Tuesday, March 3, when the Cadets face Lebanon Valley at 11 a.m. in Vero Beach.
