Baseball Drops Pair at Norwich

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Rivier baseball team fell to Norwich in both games of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Garrity Field. The Raiders lost game one, 11-10, in 13 innings and dropped game two, 9-4, in eight innings.

With the losses, Rivier fell to 6-10 (1-3 GNAC) as the Cadets improved to 6-9 (2-2 GNAC).

The Raiders will press pause on their GNAC schedule for a non-conference contest on Sunday, March 30 at Western New Eng. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Trelease Park.

Norwich 10, Rivier 9 (13 inn.)

Rivier got off to a 5-0 lead thanks to a two-RBI double from sophomore Sebastien Reis in the second, an RBI double from junior Nathan Innerfield in the third, and a pair of RBI singles from senior classmates Luis Tejada and JD Normand in the fifth.

The hosts got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs to make it a three-run game.

Rivier got one back in the sixth as senior Dylan Aliberti recorded a sacrifice fly, making it 6-2. Norwich rallied for a six-run bottom half, notching six hits, including a two-run homer in the frame.

Reis once again came up big at the plate in the seventh, tying the score up at 8-8 on a two-RBI single to left, which eventually forced extra innings.

The Raiders took the lead in the top of the 12th, scoring a run on an Aliberti single. The Cadets responded with an RBI single of their own in the 12th to keep the game going.

The Cadets walked it off with their second batter of the 13th inning with a solo homer over the fence in left.

Reis went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a walk as Innerfield went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.

Rivier's starter, junior Anthony Morro, went 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out eight Cadet batters. Sophomore righty Brendan Ferris threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just four baserunners while fanning four batters faced.

Norwich 9, Rivier 4 (8 inn.)

Norwich took an 8-0 lead into the sixth inning, but senior JD Normand would get the Raiders on the board with an RBI single to left.

The Raiders then used a three-run top of the seventh with runs knocked in by first-year Jayce Martinez and seniors Jacob Boudreau and Kyle Hsu to cut their deficit to just four runs. In the bottom of the seventh, Norwich scored one time on a wild pitch to make it 9-4.

In the top of the eighth, Rivier threatened with two on and one out, but were unable to push the runners over the plate. The game was then called due to darkness.

Boudreau, Normand, and classmate Luis Tejada each went 2-for-4 in game two of the afternoon.