CONKLIN – Coming straight off spring break, the Norwich Purple Tornado baseball team faced league opponent Sus Valley on Monday. After two tough losses, Norwich celebrated a tight 6-5 win, their first of the year. A game where Norwich’s bats went to work and its pitching held the Sabers in the bottom of the seventh from tying up the game.

After a scoreless first inning, Norwich answered first in the top of the second with three runs. With two runners on due to walks and an unplayable bunt laid down by Jackson Sastri, Owen Olds came up to the plate with no outs. Olds singled on a ball to left field and Jackson Francis and Graham Burton both scored to make it 2-0 . Sastri came in to score during Aiden Whaley’s at-bat on a defensive mishap by the Sabers.

Zack Parker, who started the game for Norwich on the mound, went back to work in the bottom half of the inning, where he kept the Sabers quiet, only allowing a two-out double, but struck out three batters for the three outs. The Purple Tornado added another run in the third inning as Kaden Downey sent a deep ball to center field for a home run and put his team up 4-0.