After a series of weather-related postponements, the Cardinal softball squad finally began its three-game set against NESCAC West rival Middlebury on Saturday afternoon. Wesleyan swept the doubleheader to give coach Jen Shea Lane her 100th career victory and rolled to an 8-2 victory on Sunday morning to improve to 4-2 in its division.

Just like in the second game of its doubleheader against Amherst a week earlier, Wesleyan found itself trailing in the final frame, as the Panthers held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, center fielder Chrissy Bello ’12 singled and was sacrificed to second by left fielder Mel Kasulis ’11 before being lifted for pinch-runner Lily Thalheimer ’11. Leadoff hitter Meaghan Dendy ’10 then singled up the middle to bring home Thalheimer and tie the game at 3-3. After a walk to tri-captain Molly O’Connell ’09, catcher Taylor Zavadsky ’10 blooped a single into left field to bring home Dendy with the game-winning run.

Middlebury had gone ahead 3-0 in the top of the fourth, but the Cardinals got back a pair in the bottom of the inning. After a one-out single by Zavadsky, first baseman Talia Bernstein ’11 doubled to left-center and advanced to third on a throwing error that scored Zavadsky. Anu Rimal ’11 then sliced a single to left to bring in Bernstein.

The Cardinals had a slightly easier time in the first game of the twinbill, as Dendy scattered four hits and racked up six strikeouts in a 4-0 complete-game victory. The Cardinals wasted no time jumping on the board, as Dendy and O’Connell went back-to-back in the first to put Wesleyan ahead 2-0. Zavadsky walked and Bernstein singled to put two more runners on for the Cardinals, but Zavadsky was called out for interference on a ball hit to the shortstop by Rimal. Third baseman Alexis Kral ’12 smacked an RBI single up the middle to score Bernstein and pad Wesleyan’s lead to 3-0, but Wesleyan did no further damage in the inning.

The Cardinals added an insurance run in the fifth on another RBI single by Kral. With one out, Bernstein reached on an infield single and took second on an error by the Middlebury shortstop. A Rimal groundout moved Bernstein to third, and Kral singled to right-center to bring home Wesleyan’s fourth run.

That proved to be more than enough for Dendy, who faced 26 batters and allowed only five to reach second base. She did not walk a batter and retired eight straight at one point in picking up her team-leading fifth win of the season.

The doubleheader sweep gave head coach Jen Shea Lane her 100th career win. Shea, who took over the Wesleyan softball team in 2002, has amassed half of her wins in the past 2-1/2 seasons, as the Cardinals have posted back-to-back 21-win seasons and entered Sunday 50-41 overall since 2007.

Wesleyan continued its winning ways on Sunday, as the Cardinals rolled to an 8-2 victory to sweep the series. The Cards jumped on the board in the first thanks to an O’Connell round-tripper—the team-record ninth of her career—and a Middlebury error. Wesleyan added two more in the third and tacked on one each in the fourth and sixth innings to bookend a two-run fifth. Dendy extended her hitting streak to 19 games with a leadoff single in the fourth, and the Cardinals’ 4-7 hitters combined to go 10-for-15 with four runs and four RBI.

Rimal got the ball for Wesleyan and was brilliant in her first start of the season. She scattered five hits and two walks while ringing up seven for her first career victory. She also helped her cause at the plate, going 3-for-4 and driving in a run.

Wesleyan has won eight of its last nine against the Panthers, including a 2008 tripleheader sweep in Vermont. The Cardinals now sit atop the NESCAC West with a 4-2 record, one-half game ahead of Amherst (3-2) and percentage points ahead of Williams (2-1). The Ephs will come to Middletown for a three-game set this weekend, but Wesleyan first ventures outside the NESCAC for a Tuesday doubleheader against Western Connecticut, against which the Cardinals will look to extend their winning streak to six games.