Thanks to some timely hitting and dominant pitching performances, baseball is going to the playoffs. This weekend, a slew of games against NESCAC West rival Middlebury (8-12 overall, 4-8 NESCAC) helped vault the Cardinals (18-12 overall, 7-2 NESCAC) into an assured playoff spot. The first game of the series did not end well for the Cardinals, as Middlebury managed to pull out a 4-3 victory. If Wesleyan was nervous in the wake of that lost, it was not apparent, as the team easily swept the doubleheader with decisive victories of 6-0 and 8-4.
The first game on Friday, April 19 did not fall the Cardinals’ way. Both starting pitchers had rough goes of it, as each team had scored three runs through the third inning. Unfortunately, it was the Panthers who would tack on another, scoring their fourth run in the fourth inning and keeping the Cardinals scoreless for the rest of the way. The 4-3 win was the fourth of the NESCAC season for the Panthers, who have not played as well as they would have liked thus far. Despite giving up four runs early, starter Nick Cooney ’15 kept Middlebury scoreless in the back four frames en route to a complete game. Yet the Cardinal batters were not able to notch another run to back him up, and Wes fell 4-3.
Cardinal ace Jeff Blout ’14 pitched seven innings while fanning nine to pick up his third complete-game victory to kick off the Saturday doubleheader. The Cardinal offense did its part as well, closing out a close game by putting up five big-time runs in the last two innings. Wesleyan played much more efficient baseball than it had a day before, scoring six runs on only five hits rather than squandering 11 hits on just three runs. This time around, the Cardinal offensive juggernaut was composed of multiple runs scored by Andrew Yin ’15, Donnie Cimino ’15 hitting third, Steve Moran ’13, and Guy Davidson ’15. Each of them scored once and batted in one, while Moran added a second RBI on top of that.
The second game of the doubleheader was a similar story in result, if not in the route that the Cards took to get there. Starter Gavin Pittore ’16 was roughed up in one inning of work, and the Cardinals found themselves in a 3-0 hole after the first. Luckily, the bats came alive shortly thereafter, and by the end of the third, the Redbirds were already back on top 7-4. They would score one more run, giving them an 8-4 victory on the day. Sam Elias ’15 pitched eight innings of scoreless relief, allowing the Cardinal bats to go to work without fear. The top three hitters in the order—Moran, Yin, and Cimino—combined for five of the Cardinals’ nine hits.
Yin’s hitting streak now stands at 25 games, and fellow sophomore Cimino recently surpassed the 100 career hit mark. It is likely Yin will do so as well before the end of the season, as his current tally is 92.
The Cards face a nonconference detour at home against Southern Vermont on Wednesday, April 24 before taking on a three-game weekend series against Amherst. The Cards still have the potential to take the top seed in the NESCAC West from the Lord Jeffs, and the games against Amherst will determine both the division and Little Three titles.