Hoping to end the season on a high note, the women’s softball team traveled to Spicer Field in Medford, Mass. this past weekend for a doubleheader versus Tufts University. However, the nationally ranked and NESCAC East champion Jumbos had the Cardinals’ number, as they took the day with 7-5 and 3-0 victories.

In the first game of the day, the Cardinals came out swinging. Tori Redding ’13 started things off with a single, then Sam Epstein ’12 doubled her home for an RBI. Tufts evened the score in the bottom of the first then went ahead 2-1 in the second, but Wesleyan took back the lead in the third when Redding blasted a home run and Jill Gately ’15 doubled in Chrissy Bello ’12, who had reached on a walk.

The Jumbos were able to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth inning before posting a four-run rally in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead. However, Wesleyan refused to go quietly. With one out in the seventh inning, an error by the Tufts’ third baseman allowed Alexis Kral ’12 to reach base. Gately followed with a single, and a double by Ashley McLaren ’13 and a single by Marissa Davila ’14 drove both players in to bring the score to 7-5. However, the next two Cardinal hitters went down swinging, as Tufts won the first contest.

In the next game against the Jumbos, both teams struggled in the hitting department. The Cardinals had a total of only three hits, while the Jumbos had a total of eight. While Tufts shut the Cards out with a strong pitching performance featuring 14 strikeouts, the Jumbo offense managed a run in the third inning and two more in the 6th for a 3-0 victory.

Unfortunately for Wesleyan, this is the second year in a row that the team did not make it to postseason play. The Cards end the year with an 8-26 overall record and a 3-9 NESCAC West record.