NORTHFIELD, Vt. — The Norwich baseball team returned to Garrity Field Thursday afternoon and outslugged intrastate foe Vermont State Lyndon in a high-scoring non-conference battle.
The Hornets jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but Norwich responded quickly, surging ahead with a five-run second inning.
With two outs and the bases loaded,
Trevor Lussier (Lyndonville, Vt.) delivered a two-run single to score
Kevin Ohlsen (Shirley, N.Y.) and
Dante Hernandez (New Braunfels, Texas). John O'Connor followed with an RBI single to plate
Michael Davide Jr. (Franklin, Mass.), before
Jack Lang (Aurora, Ohio) ripped a two-run double into the left-center gap to give the Cadets their first lead of the game.
Norwich added another run in the third, as Hernandez doubled home
Dillan Garza (San Antonio, Texas) to extend the advantage.
VTSU Lyndon answered with a five-run fourth inning to reclaim the lead, but the Cadets continued to trade punches. Lang launched a two-run home run to left field in the bottom half to pull Norwich within one.
After Lyndon added a run in the fifth, Lussier responded with a two-run home run to even the score once again.
The Cadets took control for good in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Davide Jr. was hit by a pitch to force in a run, and Ohlsen later scored on a balk before
Jack Medhurst (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) came home on a wild pitch to stretch the lead. Norwich tacked on an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Ohlsen.
On the mound,
Nathan Abbott (Durham, Maine) shut down the Hornets in relief to earn the win, while
Bryson Bush (Leonard, Texas) closed out the game with a clean ninth inning to secure his first collegiate save.
Lang led the Norwich offense with a 3-for-4 performance, driving in four runs while adding a pair of doubles and a home run. Lussier also drove in four runs, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Medhurst scored three times and swiped two bases, while Garza added two stolen bases.
Norwich returns to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Saturday, April 11, hosting a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's (Maine) beginning at 12 p.m.
