The Cardinals beat Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday, April 8.

The baseball team (13-4) eked out a win over Western Connecticut State University (9-5) on Wednesday, beating the Colonials 4-2 on Dresser Diamond.

Western came into the game hot, riding an eight-game win streak after losing five of its six opening matchups. The Cards swept Little Three foe Williams and are ranked second in New England, 30th in the nation. The Birds have won six of eight games in the all-time series against their interstate rivals.

Tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, Sam Goodwin-Boyd ’15 led off the bottom of the frame with a double, and Jon Dennett ’15 followed up the first baseman’s hit with a double bagger of his own down the left field line, pushing the score to 3-2. Goodwin-Boyd’s double looked to have the legs to get out of the park, but the rainy weather inhibited the ball’s flight pattern, and it bounced off the fence. Ellis Schaefer ’17 plated Dennett on a safety squeeze to double the lead to 4-2.

Cardinal starter Peter Rantz ’16 went six innings, giving up two runs on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. Wilson Flower ’16 kept the game even with four scoreless outs. Sam Elias ’15 improved to 4-0 on the year, striking out three of the five outs he got after entering the game with one out in the eighth.

Wes surrendered the first run of the game early, allowing a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Birds tied the game in the fifth, however, despite not even registering a hit up to that point. They scored on an unearned run behind two walks, an error, and a wild pitch.

The Colonials responded quickly in the sixth inning after a single, a wild pitch, and a double, taking a short-lived 2-1 lead. In the seventh, Eric Jones ’16 singled and stole second, before Captain Donnie Cimino ’15 plated him on a double, once again evening the score. The aforementioned two-run eighth for the Cards gave them the lead for good.

Wesleyan will take on Bowdoin in a double header in the shadow of Olin Memory Library this Saturday, April 11. Bowdoin enters the game 2-3 in the conference, ranked fourth in the NESCAC East.