NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University baseball team hosted Albertus Magnus College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Garrity Field.

The Cadets rallied in both games to sweep the Falcons, taking game one 5-3 and game two 8-7.

In game one, the Falcons broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the top of the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead. The Cadets responded with two runs in the home half of the frame as senior second baseman Drew Caldwell (Hanover, Mass.) lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, plating fellow senior Ed Gates (Griswold, Conn.) to make it 3-1. Later in the inning sophomore catcher Jake Godbee (Ormond Beach, Fla.) delivered an RBI single to centerfield that scored fellow sophomore Andrew Fisher (Tewksbury, Mass.) to cut the defecit to 3-2.

In the bottom of the fifth the Cadets rallied once again as freshman shortstop Jacob Parizo (Groton, Conn.) produced an RBI groundout that scored freshman right fielder Nate Gehringer (Northampton, Penn.) to tie the game 3-3. Gates then hit a sacrifice fly, scoring junior center fielder Kevin Lynch (Randolph, Mass.) to take the lead 4-3. Later in the inning Caldwell lined an RBI double to right field that scored Fisher and gave Norwich an insurance run at 5-3.

Freshman Luke Johansen (Doylestown, Penn.) shut down the Falcon bats over the final two innings to pick up the win and improve to 2-2. On the day he tossed seven innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits and one walk. He struck out three batters.

Every batter in the Norwich lineup had at least one hit in game one as the team combined for 10 hits.

In game two, the Falcons got on the board first again, this time with two runs in the top of the first inning for a 2-0 edge. They added two more in the third to take a 4-0 lead before the Cadet bats heated up in the bottom of the frame.

Caldwell delivered a clutch, two-out single that scored both Gates and Parizo to cut the lead to 4-2. Later in the inning sophomore left fielder Brady Doherty (Sandwich, Mass.) reached on an error that allowed Fisher to score to make it 4-3.

Albertus scored an additional run in the top of the fifth, but once again the Norwich bats responded. Caldwell picked up another RBI on a single through the left side of the infield that scored Parizo for a 5-4 score.

The Falcons added another run in the top of the sixth for a 6-4 lead but the Cadets weren't done offensively as they rallied for four runs in the home half of the inning. 

Gates shot a two-run double to center that scored Gehringer and junior first baseman Jacob Barlow (Newburyport, Mass.) to tie the game 6-6. Fisher then stepped to the plate and launched a two-run homer over the fence in right field (scoring Gates) for an 8-6 Norwich lead.

The Falcons scored one run in the top of the seventh, but couldn't complete the comeback and fell 8-7.

Gates picked up the win after tossing the complete game to improve to 2-4 on the year. He allowed seven runs (three earned) on 10 hits and three walks while striking out three batters.

Parizo, Gates and Fisher all scored two runs apiece while Caldwell finished the game with 3 RBIs. Gates and Fisher each chipped in two RBIs apiece.

The Cadets now stand at 4-19 overall and 4-4 in the GNAC while the Falcons fall to 7-18 overall and 3-7 in the conference. Norwich is next in action on Wednesday evening for a road, conference doubleheader against Rivier University. Those games are scheduled for 5p.m. and 7:30 p.m.