The softball team suffered a pair of defeats against regional power Eastern Connecticut State on Thursday afternoon, dropping the first game of the doubleheader 7-3 and falling 3-0 in the nightcap. Wesleyan now sits at 11-14 on the year and will venture to Brandeis for a Saturday doubleheader for its next action.

Wesleyan jumped on the board first in Game 1, as pitcher Meaghan Dendy ’10 roped a bases-loaded single to center field to score Chrissy Bello ’12. The hit was Dendy’s second of the game; she had singled in the first to extend her streak of reaching base to 24 games. Eastern Connecticut, however, tied the game in the third and added a pair of unearned runs in the fifth for a 3-1 lead. The Cardinals retied the game in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double by Alexis Kral ’12 that scored Talia Bernstein ’11 and pinch-runner Mel Kasulis ’11. Catcher Taylor Zavadsky ’10 and Bernstein had opened the frame with consecutive singles.

The Warriors, however, regained the lead for good with a four-run outburst in the top of the seventh. Following a leadoff double, a dropped fly ball and a walk loaded the bases for the visitors, who used a pair of doubles and a triple to take a 7-3 lead. Wesleyan got a two-out single from Kral in the seventh, but Warriors kept the Cardinals off the board for the 7-3 victory.

Wesleyan was able to keep the second game fairly close, as Chelsea Swete ’11 matched her Eastern Connecticut counterpart pitch-for-pitch through four innings. In the fifth, however, the Warriors broke out for three runs, which would turn out to be all they would need. Eastern Connecticut ace Molly Rathbun faced just two batters over the minimum, as Zavadsky, who had a pair of singles, was the only Cardinal to reach base in the game. Swete also had an impressive performance on the mound, going the distance and scattering nine hits (four of which came in the fifth inning) and three walks while striking out six.

Wesleyan did not go quietly in the seventh, as Zavadsky notched her second hit on the evening with one out. Bernstein then reached on a fielder’s choice to shortstop for the second out, and pinch-hitter Julia Chamberlin ’09 struck out to end the game.

Although the Cardinals are playing outside the NESCAC West this weekend, Wesleyan can clinch a playoff berth depending on the outcome of the Amherst-Middlebury and Hamilton-Williams series. Wesleyan, the defending NESCAC West champion, is currently sitting atop the divisional standings at 6-3, one game ahead of Amherst (3-2) and one and one-half ahead of Williams (3-3). The Cardinals took two out of three against the Ephs last weekend but dropped two out of three against Amherst, giving the Lord Jeffs the head-to-head tiebreaker. A Hamilton sweep of Williams would give the Cardinals a playoff berth for the third consecutive season.