c/o John Mrakovcich

This weekend marks the first competition of the year for a number of Wesleyan’s spring sports teams. Between this issue and the next, we will preview the upcoming seasons as 12 different Cardinals teams kick off their exciting 2023 campaigns. Here are the first four previews.

Women’s Lacrosse

Last season, women’s lacrosse was in top form, with the team going 14–5 overall in their second-highest single season win total in program history. The Cards made it to the semifinals of the NESCAC Championships and round three of NCAAs in their fourth ever appearance in the tournament. Coming into this season, the Red and Black are ranked 11th overall in the country and fourth overall in the conference, indicating that 2023 is shaping up to be an incredibly competitive year for the NESCAC. The Cards are more than ready for the challenge. Three players were recently being named to the USA Lacrosse’s Pre-Season All American team. Wesleyan’s team this year will be captained by Kate Balicki ’23, Gil Horst ’23, Olivia Lai ’23, and Erin Trotta ’23. Their season will begin on Saturday, March 4, when they will face Bates at home. Following that, the Cardinals will face a series of non-conference battles against Babson College and Franklin & Marshall College (whom they have not played in over a decade). They will then fly to California to play Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Their biggest challenge of the month will be on Sunday, March 19, when they head up to Waterville, Maine to play Colby, ranked number seven nationally.

Men’s Lacrosse

2022 was a big year for men’s lacrosse. The team made it to the NESCAC Championship semifinals and to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Coming into the 2023 season, the Cards are ranked 11th in the nation and third overall in conference, which indicates that the season promises to be filled with exciting competition. A number of critical players will be returning this season. Six Cardinals were named Preseason All-American honorable mentions by Insider Lacrosse, and six were named to the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association preseason team. This year’s team of 60 players will be captained by Colin Hanley GLSP ’23, Justin Hazard ’24, Jacob Braunstein ’23, and Noah Braunstein ’23. Their season kicks off on Saturday, March 4 in Lewiston, Maine where they’ll face off against Bates, but their first major test will come on Saturday, March 25, when the Cards will take on Bowdoin, ranked number four nationally, in Brunswick, Maine.

Baseball

Wesleyan baseball is coming off an impressive 2022 season in which the Cards brought home their first Little Three Championship since 2015 by going 2–1 against both Williams and Amherst in their season series. They look to build on that success and hope to make a deep run into the NESCAC playoffs. Last year, Wesleyan made it into the playoffs, but they failed to get past Colby in the quarterfinals. They will begin their season by flying out to Tucson, Arizona, playing 12 non-conference games from Sunday, March 12 to Friday, March 24. Upon returning, their second through fourth games back on the East Coast will be against Williams, as they will aim to defend the Little Three Title. The Wesleyan Baseball team struggled in a shortened 2021 season, but showed that they had what it takes, finishing with an 18–16 record. The Cards will hope to improve on their success and make noise this year come playoffs time.

Softball

Wesleyan softball is looking to continue the progress they made last year, and with a strong recruited class and several returning players, they should be able to do just that. The Cardinals will be led by captains Ciara Castillo ’23 and Krissy Gately ’24, who will bring their veteran leadership to the team. This will be invaluable, as Wesleyan had a recruiting class of five first-years this offseason, all of whom will bring new energy to the Red and Black and hope to retool the offense and pitching staff after several seniors graduated last season. One notable returner is pitcher/first base Isabella Secaira-Cotto ’25 who made the NESCAC All-Conference second team last year as a first-year. Secaira-Cotto led the Cardinals in home runs and RBIs while batting an impressive .291; she also pitched to a 2.67 ERA, another team best. Outfield/catcher Hannah Docktor ’24 will hope to add some offensive power as she comes off a season in which she hit .340. While the team has had a few down years in a row, they improved dramatically between the 2021 and 2022 seasons and will be driven to continue that trend into 2023.

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu. 

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.