Travers’ heroics guide NU to softball league split

NORTHFIELD, VT. – A three-run seventh inning rally propelled Norwich University to a 5-4 game two win over Johnson and Wales March 30.

The Cadets (10-8 overall, 4-4 GNAC), closing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader against the Wildcats with a split, turned to the bat of freshman utility player Kelly Travers (Whitman, Mass.). With the bases loaded and two outs in the Maroon and Gold’s last at-bat, Travers’ blooped a 2-2 pitch from JWU starter Tayla Gardner into shallow left field. Sophomore outfielder/infielder Kim Comtois (Northwood, N.H.) crossed safely on the single and sophomore infielder/catcher Abby Belcher (Winthrop, Mass.) came around to score due to an error after the hit. With home plate left uncovered, sophomore infielder Erin Clark (Bradford, Vt.) scrambled home and narrowly beat the tag of Gardner for the winning run.

NU’s comeback moved freshman pitcher Corrine Baita (Rochester, N.H.) to her fourth decision of the season. Despite being tagged for 10 hits, she managed to strike out two and surrendered only one walk. 

Belcher and Clark each scored two runs and had a hit apiece, while sophomore outfielder/infielder Kaylie Miller (Long Lake, N.Y.) ended with two hits including a double. Travers also had a multiple-hit effort in the nightcap. 

Game one was also a thriller. Norwich trailed 2-1 early but rebounded with a two-run third inning. Travers’ triple highlighted the rally, and she and junior infielder Noel Byers (Iron Mountain, Mich.) scored in the frame. Johnson and Wales answered back with single tallies in the fifth and sixth to take a 4-3 edge which sophomore pitcher Taylor Cwalinski made stand up leaving a Cadets’ runner stranded in the sixth and seventh.

Travers, as part of a five-hit day, was three-for-three at the plate. Byers added an RBI.

Norwich’s regularly-scheduled GNAC doubleheader against Simmons, set for Soldiers’ Field on Harvard’s campus Saturday, March 31, was postponed due to the potential for inclement weather in the Boston, Mass., area. Coach Greg McGrath’s squad is scheduled to travel to Emmanuel College Sunday, April 1, at 12 p.m.