The Albertus Magnus softball team fell to Norwich 5-4 in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon in Northfield, Vt.  The Falcons, who were the seventh seed of the tournament, made a postseason appearance for the first time since 2006.

With the loss, the Falcons even their record at 17-17 overall.

After falling behind 2-0 after two innings, the Falcons tied up the contest on a Shyleen Ortiz (New Britain, Conn.) two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning.

Ortiz, who threw six innings for the Falcons, allowed three earned runs on five hits to go along with one strikeout.  She helped her own cause as she was 1-for-2 at the plate with one run scored, two RBI and a walk.

Elaina Maio (West Haven, Conn.) added a double and one run, while Amanda Jessey (East Haven, Conn.) contributed with one hit and one RBI.

After the Falcons tied the game at two in the fifth, Norwich scored three runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-2 lead.  Briana Day homered before a sacrifice fly to center by Abby Belcher tied extended the Cadets' lead to 4-2.  Erin Clark added an RBI single, which proved to be the game-winning hit.

 The Falcons put together a rally in the seventh inning as Ortiz led off the frame with a walk before moving to third on Maio's double.  After the first out was recorded, Britney Urciuoli (Newington, Conn.) reached base on an error to load the bases for the Falcons.  Jessey hit a hard shot to short and was thrown out at first, while the Falcons scored their third run of the day.  On the play, Norwich was able to get Urciuoli out at second for the third out of the inning just after the second run of the inning scored.

 With Norwich edging the Falcons in the contest, Albertus was eliminated from GNAC Tournament play.

The Falcons are now 6-12 all-time in GNAC Tournament play and are 1-1 all-time in GNAC Tournament action against the Cadets.