HAMDEN, Conn. — The Norwich University baseball team opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Sunday afternoon, splitting a doubleheader with Albertus Magnus at Hamden High School.

Game 1 – Norwich 5, Albertus Magnus 1
Albertus Magnus struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Norwich responded quickly and rode a dominant outing from Carson Rath (Glens Falls, N.Y.) to secure the win.

Rath was outstanding on the mound, tossing a complete-game performance while allowing just one run on six hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out nine.

The Cadets evened the score in the second inning. Trevor Lussier (Lyndonville, Vt.) reached after being hit by a pitch before back-to-back two-out walks by Jack Medhurst (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Domenic Swaine (Leominster, Mass.) loaded the bases. Lussier came home on a wild pitch to tie the game.

Norwich took the lead in the third when Geffen Franus (Leesburg, Va.) singled and advanced on an error before Michael Sabasteanski (Ashburn, Va.) brought him home with an RBI single.

Clinging to a one-run lead, the Cadets broke the game open in the sixth with a three-run inning. Lussier led off with a single, and Isaac Maldonado (Miami, Fla.) followed with a walk before Medhurst delivered an RBI single to score Lussier. Medhurst later stole second, and Swaine plated Maldonado with an RBI single. After swiping second himself,

Swaine came around as Kevin Ohlsen (Shirley, N.Y.) lifted a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-1.

Franus and Sabasteanski each recorded two hits, while Swaine finished a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Game 2 – Albertus Magnus 14, Norwich 4 (7 inn.)
The Falcons seized control early in the nightcap, scoring five runs in the first inning and never relinquishing the lead.

Norwich got on the board in the fourth when Franus reached on an error and later scored on an RBI single by Lussier.

The Cadets added single runs in each of the next three innings. In the fifth, Swaine worked a walk and came around to score after Kevin Ohlsen doubled and Jon Ringer (Cupertino, Calif.) drove him in with a groundout. Maldonado scored on a wild pitch in the sixth after reaching by hit-by-pitch, and Sabasteanski brought home John O'Connor (Southington, Conn.) with an RBI single in the seventh.

Albertus Magnus continued to add on throughout the game, securing the run-rule victory.

Norwich remains on the road Tuesday, March 25, when the Cadets visit Gordon for a non-conference matchup at 3 p.m.