The baseball team (23-7, 10-2 NESCAC) clinched the Little Three and NESCAC West titles with a thrilling series victory against Amherst (23-7, 9-3 NESCAC) last weekend. All three games went down to the wire, with Wesleyan winning the first two games by scores of 8-6 and 2-1 before dropping the series finale 5-3 in 11 innings.

The Cardinals won the series through clutch power hitting, excellent defense, and a spectacular performance by Jeff Blout ’14 (5-0, 3.47 ERA) in the clincher. Wesleyan whacked four home runs in the three games to continue its recent team power surge (eight bombs in its last seven games) and committed only one error.

In the series opener at Amherst on Friday, April 25, staff ace Nick Cooney ’15 (5-1, 3.35 ERA) started on the hill for the Cards and came out firing, striking out the side in the first. Wesleyan got the scoring started in a big way in the top of the second, with a three-run home run off the bat of Jonathan Dennett ’15, his third of the season.

In the top of the fourth, Guy Davidson ’16 picked a great moment to hit his first homer of the season, ripping a two-run shot to give Wesleyan a 5-0 lead. However, the Lord Jeffs got one back in the bottom half of the inning with a long ball of their own to cut the Cards’ lead to 5-1.

The round trippers continued for the Cardinals in the top of the fifth, with Sam Goodwin-Boyd ’15 crunching a two-run tater to push Wesleyan’s lead to 7-1.

Cooney faltered in the fifth, giving up four runs, but the Cards tacked on an insurance run in the seventh and hung on for the 8-6 victory. The final two outs of the contest came via strikeouts by Goodwin-Boyd with the bases full of Jeffs.

In the second game of the series on Saturday, April 26 on Dresser Diamond, Blout and Goodwin-Boyd played the heroes in a spine-tingling comeback 2-1 victory that ended in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Blout had it all working for him, pitching eight innings of five-hit, one-run ball.
“Everything felt good,” Blout said. “My fastball, I was able to locate. I was able to get my curve over. And for the first time all season, I could throw a change-up for a strike. So I was able to get out of a lot of big spots by throwing pitching I’m not used to throwing in big counts. And I think that’s what was the big difference today.”

In a game that was scheduled to go only seven innings, this one went into extras thanks to a magical moment from Goodwin-Boyd in the bottom of the seventh. With his team trailing 1-0, the big first baseman led off the inning with a game-tying solo blast over the fence in left.

The ball looked as if it might not have enough to reach the fence, but halfway through its flight, the screams coming from Wesleyan’s bench indicated the game would be tied. After it cleared the fence, the Cardinal players could barely contain themselves from running out onto the field to congratulate Goodwin-Boyd.

“It was an inside fastball that I think [the pitcher] meant to be more inside,” Goodwin-Boyd said. “I got a pretty good piece of it, I’d say.”

Blout, who brought his best stuff in one of the biggest games of his career, may have been the happiest of all the Cardinals watching Goodwin-Boyd’s big fly.

“Relief,” Blout said, describing his feelings after the home run. “We know our team can hit the ball. My job is to keep them off the scoreboard and give our team the best chance to win games.”

Blout did his job, keeping Amherst off the scoreboard in the eighth, and Jimmy Hill ’14 (2-0, 0.71 ERA) continued his sensational season with a scoreless top of the ninth, setting up the dramatics for Wesleyan in the bottom half the frame.

It was Goodwin-Boyd, once again, who came up with the big hit, leading off the inning by lining a double to left. Robby Harbison ’17 moved Goodwin-Boyd over to third with a ground ball to first, and Dennett came to the plate with a chance to end the game.

With the man tied for the team lead in home runs coming to the plate, Amherst was not likely expecting a bunt, but that’s exactly what Dennett did, dropping down a squeeze bunt to drive in the winning run to give Wesleyan its second consecutive Little Three and NESCAC West division title.

“I knew I was going to get [the bunt sign],” Dennett said. “They did the same thing to us last year in the playoffs in the 14th inning, so it’s only right that we returned the favor. It feels awesome.”

Even if the Cards’ 5-3 loss in the series finale left a sour taste in their mouths, this weekend was nothing but sweetness for Wesleyan.

“It’s unbelievable,” Goodwin-Boyd said about clinching the titles. “It was a great way to do it too, a walk off.”

Head Coach Mark Woodworth has been the steady hand that has guided this powerhouse Cardinals team all season long.

“So proud of these guys,” Woodworth said. “We were in the same situation last year, on our field against those guys and we turned the table against a really good team. And to do it in front of our home crowd was fantastic and amazing. This was a great moment we’ll never forget.”

The Cards next take the field on Tuesday, when they will face off against MIT in Cambridge, Mass.