Baseball Splits With Norwich in Home Opener

NASHUA, N.H. – Rivier baseball opened its home slate with a pair of nine-inning games against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Norwich on Tuesday afternoon at Holman Stadium, dropping the first game, 9-5, before taking the second game, 11-3.

The Raiders moved to 4-13 (1-3 GNAC) while the Cadets now sit at 3-15 (2-4 GNAC).

Next up, Rivier will head to Springfield for a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 6 beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Archie Allen Field.

Norwich 9. Rivier 4

Norwich led 5-3 after two innings. In the bottom of the frame, Luis Tejada knocked in a run on a single to right center before JD Normand smacked a two-run homer to left.

The visiting Cadets put together a four-run top of the seventh thanks to a wild pitch, a pair of RBI base knocks, and a hit by pitch to improve their lead to five.

Rivier would score one run in the bottom of the ninth on a Dylan Aliberti RBI single, but would ultimately fall in its home opener.

Tejada finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in while Frank Gulezian went 2-for-4 at the dish. Colton Colleran went 3-for-5.

Rivier 11, Norwich 3

Heading into the bottom of the third, Rivier trailed 3-0 before a Luis Colon double scored Kyle Hsu which would start a string of 11 unanswered runs for the Raiders.

Rivier blew it open with a six-run sixth inning, highlighted by two, two-RBI singles from Colon and Dylan Aliberti.

In the bottom of the eighth, JD Normand put an exclamation point on the victory with a two-run homer to left making it 11-3.

Nate Bonacorsi tossed seven innings, allowing four hits, and one earned run while striking out two batters. Both Patrick Young and Ty Baker pitched the final two innings, shutting down the Cadets' offense for no runs.