Wesleyan baseball came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, opening its annual spring break trip to Arizona and California by sweeping series against Swarthmore College, the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford, Presentation College, and La Sierra University. The Cardinals went undefeated in the first ten games of the season, outscoring their opposition 113-59 during the streak, to earn their best start in 22 years. The Cards cooled off toward the end of their west coast swing, dropping their last four games to finish the trip with a 10-4 record.

The spring trip also yielded some tremendous individual efforts. Infielder Julian Sonnenfeld ’11 paced a group of Cardinal offensive standouts by batting .436 with 12 doubles and six home runs. Regular starters Derek Dettorre ’11, Kyle Weiss ’12, Alex Meadow ’12, and David Skura ’12 all joined Sonnenfeld above the .400 mark, and twelve Cardinals finished the trip with batting averages over .300. Brett Yarusi ’12 posted a 3.71 ERA in three starts to lead the pitching staff.

“The most important result of the spring trip was that everyone on the team meshed well,” Sonnenfeld said. “As a group we’re all on the same page; we know what each other are thinking before every play even happens. There’s a feeling of unity that helps [us succeed].”
This understanding has been an important factor for the baseball program’s steady improvement from a disjointed ’07 squad that went 4-12 in the NESCAC. “This is the toughest team mentally since I’ve been here,” added utility man Nick Gonsalves ‘10, who has witnessed three previous underwhelming spring trips in which the team started 6-7, 5-9, and 5-7. “Every time we’re down, we’re confident that we’ll come back and win the game.”
Indeed, Wesleyan began the 2010 campaign with a comeback victory over Pitt-Bradford. Starting pitcher Mike Barsotti ’12 spotted the Panthers five runs in the first inning, leaving the Cardinals with a four-run deficit going into the top of the second. However, Jeff Bizinkauskas ‘10 and Weiss both worked walks to open the inning, and Dettorre doubled them both home to close the gap to two. Displaying a mental toughness not always present his freshman year, Barsotti took the mound and control of the game in Pitt-Bradford’s half of the second, holding the home team to one run for the next four innings before yielding to James Hounsell ‘11, who tossed a scoreless sixth.

With the Pitt-Bradford offense stymied, Wesleyan was able to tie the game in the fourth courtesy of a Dettorre two-run triple. The Cards staged a seven-run fifth inning and one more in the sixth to put the game out of reach for the Panthers, who managed only one unearned run in the seventh and final inning against Chris Bonti ‘13 in his collegiate debut.
The Cardinals won the second game of the Pitt-Bradford twinbill by an identical score of 13-7 behind a strong outing by Yarusi and a breakthrough 3-for-4, 6-RBI performance by Skura. Wesleyan crushed 0-5 Presentation College three days later by a score of 20-11 in a game which saw some oddities such as pitcher Barsotti going 4-for-4 at the plate as the designated hitter and DH Ryan Coffey ‘11 legging out a triple in a pinch-hit appearance. The next day, Wesleyan swept a double-header against Swarthmore. Starting pitchers Hounsell and Dan Thomsen ‘12 both recorded their first varsity victories and Sonnenfeld continued his torrid pace at the plate, going 4-for-7 with five RBI on the day.

Barsotti and Yarusi each ran their records to 2-0 with complete-game victories over Presentation, and the Cards closed out the Arizona leg of their spring trip in dramatic fashion with a tenth-inning, 11-10 escape over Swarthmore. Tied at nine after nine, Swarthmore grabbed a one-run advantage off of Derek Lukin ‘13 in the top of the tenth. The Cards were able to rally in the bottom of the frame, thanks to walks drawn by Sonnenfeld, Bizinkauskas, and Brice Kelly ‘10. Dettorre brought home Sonnenfeld on a fielder’s choice, then scored the winning run himself when Swarthmore pitcher Zach Weiner let loose a wild pitch with the base loaded. Lukin snaked the victory as Wesleyan took its 2010 “Desert Classic” title and unblemished record to California.

Weiss and Sonnenfeld each stole three bases and Gonsalves ground out three walks as the Cardinals pounded lowly La Sierra 17-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. Apparently La Sierra took the loss pretty hard, because they trotted out two ringers to play left field and catcher for the nightcap, winning by a score of 5-4, ostensibly putting an end to Wesleyan’s winning streak. However, as a result of the illegal players used, the game has since been forfeited to Wesleyan by a 7-0 score, allowing the Cardinals to extend their start to 10-0.
The winning streak ended for real three days later when the Cards lost 15-9 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, then went across the street and caught a 21-12 beating from Pomona-Pitzer. The Cardinals ended spring break with a doubleheader at the University of Redlands.

Promising freshman Lukin appeared to solidify his status as the Cardss third starter in the opener, scattering ten hits holding a strong Redlands lineup to only three runs in eight and a third innings. However, the Bulldogs came from behind in the ninth to steal a 5-4 victory. Thomsen got touched for 12 runs in the nightcap as Redlands defeated Wesleyan in a game cut short by a ten-run mercy rule.

Back in New England, the Cardinals faced Coast Guard on Thursday in a tune-up for this weekend’s showdown against Little Three rival Amherst and came away with a 9-2 win. Kelly led the Cardinals with a 4-for-5, five-RBI performance at the plate, and DH Derek Dettorre ‘12 went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. On the mound, Michael Cifuentes ‘10 earned his first win of 2010, scattering five hits over eight innings and striking out nine.

“We have to regain that winning mentality from the beginning of the spring trip,” said Gonsalves about the upcoming three-game set against the Lord Jeffs, whose Will Lawton beat out Sonnenfeld for this week NESCAC Player of the Week award. Not to worry though, says Gonsalves, for “this week, he’s [Sonnenfeld] gonna show them what’s up.”