NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University baseball team battled back from an early four-run deficit and briefly carried the lead into the late innings, but St. Lawrence University pulled away in the seventh and held off a final Norwich push to claim a 10-8 non-conference victory on Wednesday afternoon at Garrity Field.
In the first meeting between the two programs since the 1973 season, the Cadets showed plenty of fight throughout, erasing a 4-0 hole and finishing with eight hits while forcing three St. Lawrence errors.
Geffen Franus (Leesburg, Va.) led the Norwich offense with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, while
John O'Connor (Southington, Conn.) added two hits and an RBI.
Jack Medhurst (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) reached base three times and scored once, and
Domenic Swaine (Leominster, Mass.) crossed the plate twice in the setback.
St. Lawrence struck first in the second inning, capitalizing on an error and a wild pitch before adding a two-run single to build a 4-0 advantage.
Norwich answered immediately in the bottom half. Swaine and
Kaden Jones (Newport, Vt.) both came home on a two-run double to right by Franus, trimming the margin in half.
The Cadets continued to chip away in the third. O'Connor came around to score on a sacrifice bunt by Jones, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Norwich then surged in front with a strong fourth inning. Franus delivered again, ripping another two-run double to center to score Medhurst and Swaine, and O'Connor followed with a sacrifice fly to left that plated Franus and gave the Cadets a 6-4 lead.
St. Lawrence responded in the fifth, pushing across two runs to even the game at 6-6.
Norwich regained the advantage in the bottom of the inning when
Jack Lang (Aurora, Ohio) scored on a St. Lawrence error, moving the Cadets back in front, 7-6.
That lead held until the seventh, when the Saints broke through with a decisive four-run frame. St. Lawrence tied the contest on a wild pitch, moved ahead after a hit batter with the bases loaded, added another run on a second wild pitch, and capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to take a 10-7 edge.
The Cadets threatened one final time in the ninth.
Kyle Tanis (Shelburne, Vt.) scored on an RBI single up the middle from
Trevor Lussier (Lyndonville, Vt.), bringing Norwich back within two, but St. Lawrence closed the door from there to secure the 10-8 final.
Franus finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs and two doubles to pace the lineup, while O'Connor went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Lussier added a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth, and Lang scored once. Medhurst drew three walks and scored, while Swaine scored twice and added a hit.
Norwich used five pitchers in the contest.
Nathan Abbott (Durham, Maine) started and worked five innings, allowing six runs on five hits while striking out five.
Peter Idleman (Mequon, Wis.) provided two scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts, and
Griffin Vincent (Westminster, Md.) tossed a scoreless ninth.
The Cadets will remain out of conference play for their next outing, hosting intrastate foe Vermont State University Castleton on Thursday, Apr. 23, for a single game at 3:30 p.m. on Garrity Field.
