NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University baseball team will return to postseason play this weekend, opening the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament as the sixth seed with a Friday, May 1 matchup against third-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Larry Mahaney Diamond in Standish, Maine.
The Cadets enter the tournament at 12-23 overall and 9-11 in GNAC action after closing the regular season with a critical Senior Day sweep of New England College to punch their postseason ticket. Norwich's appearance marks the program's first GNAC Tournament berth since 2024 and its highest conference tournament seed since earning the No. 5 spot in 2021.
This year's GNAC format again features two four-team double-elimination pods, with Norwich placed in Pod B alongside No. 2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), No. 3 Saint Joseph's College of Maine, and No. 7 Lasell University. While most of the tournament's opening-day games remain scheduled for Thursday, Norwich's matchup with Saint Joseph's College of Maine has been shifted to Friday because of inclement weather. The Cadets will then continue pod play on Saturday, May 2, at the University of Saint Joseph, with their opponent and game time determined by Friday's results.
Norwich secured the No. 6 seed after finishing tied with Lasell in the conference standings, with the tiebreaker going to the Cadets based on results against top-seeded Mitchell College. Norwich split its regular season series with Mitchell, while Lasell was swept. The Cadets also closed GNAC play with needed momentum, combining for 30 hits in their sweep of New England College while receiving a complete-game performance from
Carson Rath (Glens Falls, N.Y.) in the opener and a key relief outing from
Bryson Bush (Leonard, Texas) in the nightcap.
Offensively, Norwich has leaned on a balanced group throughout the spring.
Geffen Franus (Leesburg, Va.) leads the team with a .342 average, 40 hits, 22 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases, while
Trevor Lussier (Lyndonville, Vt.) has added a .327 average, 24 RBIs, and a team-high 10 hit-by-pitches.
Michael Sabasteanski (Ashburn, Va.) has driven in 19 runs,
Jack Medhurst (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) has scored 24 times and is a perfect 30-for-30 on stolen-base attempts, and
Kevin Ohlsen (Shirley, N.Y.) and
John O'Connor (Southington, Conn.) have continued to provide steady production through the middle of the lineup. As a team, the Cadets are batting .265 with 282 hits, 187 runs scored, and 94 stolen bases across 35 games.
On the mound, Rath has been Norwich's clear anchor. The junior right-hander enters the postseason with a 6-4 record, a 3.29 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 63.0 innings, and six complete games, including two shutouts. Bush has supplied valuable relief innings with a 5.68 ERA and one save over 19.0 innings, while
Jon Tetzlaff (Goshen, N.Y.) has made nine starts and logged 33.2 innings of work.
Saint Joseph's College of Maine enters Friday's matchup at 30-10 overall and 14-6 in conference play after earning the No. 3 seed. The Monks have been one of the GNAC's most complete clubs all spring, batting .286 as a team with 337 hits, 266 runs scored, and 33 home runs, while posting a 4.29 staff ERA and holding opponents to a .277 batting average. Nic Frink has paced the lineup with a .377 average, 10 home runs, and 41 RBIs, while Jake Carlisle has added six home runs and 23 RBIs, and Vinny O'Leary has scored 33 runs. On the mound, Dylan Brander owns a 6-2 record and 2.79 ERA over 58.0 innings, while Padraig Mac Seain has posted a 0.60 ERA across five starts.
The Monks took both regular season meetings from Norwich on Apr. 11 in Northfield, claiming 6-3 and 8-6 decisions. In the opener,
Alex DeTomasis (East Greenwich, R.I.) delivered a two-run single and Ohlsen added an RBI knock during a fifth-inning rally. In the nightcap, Norwich pushed in front late on a sacrifice fly from
Dillan Garza (San Antonio, Texas), but Saint Joseph's answered in the seventh and added insurance in the ninth to finish the sweep.
Should Norwich win on Friday, the Cadets will face the winner of the University of Saint Joseph-Lasell game on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the University of Saint Joseph. If Norwich falls, the Cadets will meet the loser of that same game on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. There will be an additional game on Sunday to determine the winner of the pod. The winner of Pod B will advance to the GNAC Championship Series next week against the survivor from Pod A.
The University of Saint Joseph enters pod play at 25-15 overall and 14-6 in GNAC play after earning the No. 2 seed via tiebreaker. The Blue Jays bring one of the conference's most explosive offenses into the weekend, batting .319 as a team with 415 hits, 301 runs, and 23 home runs. JJ Fox is hitting .388 with 62 hits, Jack Kane has batted .365 with 44 RBIs, and Dom Scalia has contributed six home runs and 39 RBIs. On the mound, Brandon Cahill has gone 7-2 with a 1.86 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 58.0 innings, while Marcus Tarfano has recorded eight saves with a 1.15 ERA.
Lasell, meanwhile, enters the tournament at 19-18 overall and 9-11 in GNAC action. The Lasers are hitting .336 as a team, the highest clip among the four Pod B teams, and have totaled 409 hits and 261 runs scored. Declan Silva leads the group at .408 with 58 hits, Connor Freitas is batting .387 with 32 RBIs, and Tim Callahan has added 52 hits and 29 RBIs. Lasell's staff owns a 6.91 ERA, led by Ty Lohsen's 4.01 mark in seven starts and Chase Supan's 3.13 ERA in 40.1 innings.
Norwich was swept by the University of Saint Joseph earlier this spring, falling 15-0 and 8-4 on Mar. 29, before later splitting a home doubleheader with Lasell on Apr. 18. The Cadets dropped the opener against the Lasers, 6-4, before responding with a 6-5 walk-off win in the second game.
With postseason play set to begin, Norwich will look to carry the urgency and offensive rhythm it found last weekend into the most important stretch of its season.
