Shannon Welch/Photo Editor

Since returning from its successful spring break trip, the Cardinal baseball squad has played a successful slew of games, going 3-1-1 over the past week. Two of those games came against non-conference opponents Elms College (5-9) and Eastern Connecticut State (12-5-1), while the other three were against NESCAC West rival Hamilton College (7-10). The Cardinals started the weekend by beating Hamilton in their first two contests—5-1 and 10-6—but then they dropped the second game of the Saturday doubleheader against Hamilton 7-6. They went on to tie Eastern Connecticut 3-3 and ended their recent stretch with a decisive win over lowly Elms College 8-1.

Hamilton had played well thus far, and every NESCAC series is a challenge, so the Cardinals knew that the weekend would be a tough one. Happily, the first game was a victory. Nick Cooney ’15 pitched a solid seven innings, totaling eight strikeouts during that time. The outfield hit well, as left fielder Chris Bonti ’13 and center fielder Donnie Cimino ’15 combined for four of the Cardinals’ eight hits in the game.

Wes took on the Continentals in a doubleheader the next day. In the early game, the Cardinals sent Jeff Blout ’14 to the bump. Blout pitched well, allowing only two earned runs and striking out three in four innings before Gavin Pittore ’16 picked up his first save in the 10-6 win. Guy Davidson ’16 led the Cardinal offense by going four-for-four from the plate with a steal, an RBI, and two runs.

The second game of the doubleheader was less satisfactory for the Cards. They lost 7-6, falling just short on the chance to come back in the ninth inning. After an RBI double that scored Cimino, Sam Goodwin-Boyd ’15 stood on second as the tying run. With only one out, it appeared as though the Cards would be able to sneak him home. Unfortunately, two straight groundouts to the right side of the infield sealed the Cardinals’ fate, and they dropped a heartbreaker.

The next game against ECSU was supposed to be a loss—Wesleyan had not beaten ECSU at baseball since 1994. Peter Rantz ’16, Derek Lukin ’13, and Sam Elias ’15 combined to hold ECSU to three runs, and the Cardinals managed to score the same. The game ended 3-3 in the eight innings due to a rain delay that caused the start time to be pushed back. The top of the order—Matt Sorkin ’15, Andrew Yin ’15, and Cimino—went a combined five-for-nine, and accounted for two of the team’s three runs.

Most recently, the Cardinals traveled to Holyoke, Mass. to play Elms College. The offense came alive and, led by Cimino’s four-for-five day at the plate, the Cardinals amassed 17 hits to demolish Elms 8-1. Lukin did work from the mound, giving up only one run in six innings of work. He was succeeded by Chris Law ’14, who logged three innings and two Ks for the save.

The Cardinals will open their quest for their first Little Three title since 2002 this weekend when Wes travels to Williamstown to take on the Ephs on Friday. The series will conclude on Saturday, April 6 with a doubleheader against Williams on Dresser Diamond.