(Photo Courtesy Adam Hatt)
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University softball team swept Anna Maria College on Saturday to wrap up a spot in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament after a one-year hiatus.
The Cadets (19-13, 14-10) downed the AMCATS 6-5 in Game 1 and then slipped past them in Game 2 1-0 behind a strong pitching performance from freshman Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.).
Baita fired a complete game one-hitter while striking out 10 Anna Maria batters to help Norwich clinch the No. 6 seed and a first round home playoff game for next week's GNAC Tournament.
Baita held Anna Maria (0-35, 0-26 GNAC) without a hit for 6 1/3rd innings before Cristina Turley hit a dribbler to third base and then beat out NU third baseman Maggie Walsh's throw on a close call at first base to break up Baita's no-hit bid.
Baita responded though by getting Lauren Kiritsy to ground out to first base and then struck out Alicia Bonneau looking to end the game while extending Norwich's winning streak to four straight games.
Sophomore utility player Briana Day (Yelm, Wash.) provided the lone offensive highlight in Game 2 with a RBI single that plated junior second baseman Noel Byers (Iron Mountain, Mich.) in the fourth inning for the game's only run.
In Game 1, Anna Maria got on the board first with a RBI double by Melissa Stedman that scored Bonneau to give the AMCATS a brief 1-0 lead.
However, Norwich responded with three runs in the bottom of the second inning with Melissa Rome (Enfield, Conn.), Kim Comtois (Northwood, N.H.) and Maggie Walsh (North Plainfield, N.J.) all scoring.
The Cadets added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth off a RBI triple by Pam Dubey (Plymouth, N.H.) and a RBI single by Erin Clark (Bradford, Vt.) to make it 5-1 Norwich.
The AMCATS didn't go away quietly though as Elizabeth Clark breathed new life into Anna Maria with a moon shot three-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fifth inning. Anna Maria knotted the game at five in the top of the sixth when Tabitha Ruggeri scored Stedman.
However, she has down throughout the season freshman outfielder Kelly Travers provided the game-winning heroics in the bottom of the seventh with walk-off RBI double that plated Clark to lift the Cadets to the 6-5 win.
Baita earned the win in Game 1 as well after coming on relief of Miller for the top of the seventh and striking out the side in order. Baita is now 11-6 on the season with a 2.62 ERA and 94 strikeouts. Miller went six innings for NU to earn the no-decision after giving up three earned runs on eight hits, three walks and striking out two.
Nichole Lowe took the losses in both games for Anna Maria. In Game 2 she matched Baita with a no-hitter through three full innings before Clark's single to left field finally broke up the dueling no-no's. Lowe finished Game 2 giving up no earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two.
The Cadets will now tentatively host either Suffolk or St. Joseph (Conn.) on Tuesday, April 24 at the NU Softball Field in a single elimination play-down game for the right to move into the final six and the double-elimination portion of the GNAC Tournament.
GAME NOTES: Saturday's sweep brought the Cadets' season win total to 19 games, which ties the most the program has had in a single-season since 2005 … Norwich is 1-2 under head coach Greg McGrath in the GNAC Tournament … The Cadets beat Lasell in the first round in 2010 before losing to Simmons and St. Joseph's (Maine) … Kelly Travers leads the team with a .417 batting average and an impressive 1.157 OPS to go along with a team-leading six home runs and 20 RBIs.
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