Despite inclement weather and last-minute schedule changes, the softball team dominated Hamilton College this past weekend, sweeping their three-game series.
In the home opener of the season, the Cardinals settled right in at Dresser Diamond, defeating the Continentals 4-3. Laura Gretchell ’14 put Hamilton’s offense at bay as she struck out 11 batters in the contest. This feat set a new career-high in strikeouts for Gretchell, only four shy of Wesleyan’s all-time strikeout record set in the 2006 season by Karla Hargrave ’08.
With Gretchell’s dominating performance on the mound, Wesleyan was able to jump out to a 2-0 lead after three innings due to the offense of Sam Epstein ’12. Epstein led the Lady Cards in hitting, accounting for half of the team’s run production as Tori Redding ’13 scored on an Epstein double in the first inning and Epstein singled home Allee Beatty ’13 in the third.
Despite falling behind 3-2 at the top of the fourth inning, Wesleyan was quick to capitalize on Hamilton’s errors. The Lady Cards knotted it up at three apiece following a one-out double by Jill Gately ’15 and two errors on a hit by Ashley McLaren ’13. Two batters later, Beatty knocked in McLaren on a single to center, and the Cardinals held on to the one-run margin to earn the victory.
The game on Friday would be the closest scoring contest between the two NESCAC rivals, as the two games on Saturday were blowouts, with scores of 10-2 and 9-1 in six innings and five innings, respectively. Dana Levy ’12 started the first game with five one-hit, shutout innings on the mound, finishing with two runs earned in six innings. Gately dominated at bat, putting Wesleyan on the board with a two run home run in the first and an RBI triple in the second. The Lady Cards held a 6-2 lead heading into the sixth inning before pouring it on with four hits and four runs to end the game in dominant fashion.
In the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, Epstein gave Wesleyan a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a three-run shot, and the Cardinals tacked on three more runs each in the second and fourth innings, as Wesleyan walked over Hamilton in the 9-1 win. The closest score in the contest was 6-1, but newcomer Haylle Reidy ’15 only allowed four hits, and struck out out four Continentals. Beatty also made Wesleyan history on Saturday, stealing two bases apiece in each game to break a tie for the most stolen bases in school history. She now sits alone in the record books with 77 career steals.
“We have a strong, dedicated team that is eager to make a mark,” Redding said before the big weekend.
The softball team boosted their NESCAC West record to a perfect 3-0 on the season thus far, with an overall record of 7-10. The Cardinals travel to the Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday, April 4, as they look capitalize on the winning momentum from this dominant weekend.