For the past few years, the spring athletics season at Wesleyan has belonged to the men’s lacrosse team. And while the Cardinals ran their record to 12-1 on Wednesday with a drubbing of Trinity, a couple of other prosperous Cardinal teams have grabbed headlines in recent weeks.
Take the softball team, which is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak that has vaulted the Cards to first place in the NESCAC West. The Cardinals (15-11, 7-2 NESCAC) swept Amherst and Hamilton on consecutive weekends thanks to what coach Jen Shea calls a “never say die attitude.”
“Good teams find a way to win and that’s what we’ve done,” Shea said. “We’ve come back from being down in several of our recent games to come out with the win and that comes from the confidence that my players have knowing that we are the better team on the field and doing what we have to do to win.”
Last Friday, the Cards trailed Hamilton by two going into the seventh inning, but mounted the game-tying rally following Molly O’Connell’s ’09 leadoff triple. O’Connell wasn’t done, as she doubled home the winning run in the top of the eighth.
The win was Wesleyan’s 13th of the year, equaling last year’s total.
“I knew at the end of last season that we’d have the potential to be very successful this season,” Shea said. “We graduated three excellent leaders in 2006, but only one of them was a starter, so the majority of the team would be coming back, and I knew this year’s upperclassmen would step into leadership roles.”
Veterans Molly Gaebe ’07 (.337 BA, 21 RBI) and Marcia Whitehead ’08 (.393 BA, 33 hits) have sparked a Wesleyan offense that is third in the NESCAC in hits and fifth in total bases. Gaebe joined the 100-hit club last weekend, one of only six players in Wesleyan softball history to reach the milestone.
The Cardinals have meshed the old with the new this year too, as rookie Meaghan Dendy ’10 is tied for the team lead in wins with six and ranks second on the team in batting average, hitting at a .384 clip.
For the Cards to continue their winning ways, they’ll need more of the same at the plate and on the mound.
“As we go into the last week and a half of the regular season, I’m looking for consistency all around—in hitting, fielding and pitching,” Shea said. “There have only been a few occasions where we’ve been great at all three in the same game. When we put it all together, there’s no telling how far this team could go.”
From the diamond to the water, the men’s crew team is making waves with its 10-0 record in dual meets this spring. The Cardinals upheld their regional status last weekend—they’re ranked second in New England—with a tight win over Bates and a comfortable victory against New Hampshire University.
A year ago, the Cardinals went 9-3 in the spring season, but graduated only one senior, leaving Wesleyan in good shape for the 2007 season.
“We first knew this team had potential midway through last spring,” said coach Phil Carney. “It really boiled down to the guys recognizing their opportunity to succeed. These guys did a good job training through the summer and the winter, when it is most difficult to keep focused on goals so far away.”
Even with all the off-season preparation, the Cardinals have still had to execute in the water—something they’ve done with great consistency thanks to veteran leadership.
“Our co-captains, Chris Cody [’07] and Matt Carey [’07], have done a great job,” Carney said. “Our senior class, one of the largest we have had in a few years, is full of guys who have put four strong years into our team.”
Connecticut’s recent rainy season has flooded the Connecticut River, forcing the Cards to train on Lake Beseck in nearby Middlefield. Carney expects the Cards to be back on the river by the beginning of next week following the Little Three Championship this weekend in Pittsfield, Mass. Following this weekend’s clash with their closest rivals, the Cardinals will start to prepare for regional and national competitions.
“Final crew selection is drawing near, and we will be working towards peaking for the New England Rowing Championships and the ECAC National Invitational Regatta in May,” Carney said.
If all goes according to plan for these two squads, Wesleyan fans could have some new teams to root for when postseason competitions begin in May.