The softball team has hit a tough stretch as they have dropped their last three games. After a tough match against Teikyo Post University at home the Cardinals took on the Panthers in a double header at Middlebury College. The three games ended in defeat and dropped the Cardinals’ record to 8-11 overall (2-4 NESCAC).
Teiko Post and Wes squared off here at Wesleyan and for a time it looked like the Cardinals would be victorious. The Lady Cards took an early 3-0 lead at the end of the third inning, with captain Sue Frost ’05 leading the offense with a single that brought in two runs and a triple. But from then on it was an all-out battle for the win. Teikyo Post managed to tie up the game at 3-3 and then added two more runs in extra innings to finally bring the Cardinals down, 5-3.
“We definitely played a strong game,” said Lynn Leber ’06. “But as a team, we weren’t hitting as well as we should have been, except for Sue. The team was defensively strong and had to adjust to some really windy weather conditions.”
“The game was definitely not our best performance, but definitely not our worst and an eye opening,” said Ashley Cecchinato ’05. “We figured out what we needed to work on and have been having practice this week to work on our mistakes. With these practices behind them, the team will be able to step it up in the games in the coming season and play to their full potential.”
Regardless of the loss, Wesleyan put an excellent effort against Teikyo Post. Considering the fact that Teikyo Post is a D-II school, the D-III Cardinals played valiantly.
But the Cardinals’ week was not over yet, next up was NESCAC rival, the Middlebury Panthers. In the first game of the double header, the Panthers jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in the second inning off of runs by Jennifer Williams, Christina Freyer, and Michaela George. The Cardinals could not seem to connect with the ball as they did not record their first hit until the fourth inning. The Panthers held on and took the game 3-0. The second game saw both teams struggling for runs as the score remained scoreless until the Panthers broke the silence in the fourth inning with two runs. Middlebury added two more runs before Wes countered with two of their own in the top of seventh. But it was not enough to overcome the deficit and the Panthers took the second game 4-2.
“This weekend against Middlebury was disappointing to lose, but we played good defense with only one error between the two games. We need to hit the ball better, because we only had three hits in the first game and five in the second,” said head coach Jenn Shea, “But the team never gave up. It was exciting to see Sue Frost hitting very well, lead the team with.353 (batting average).”
The Panthers now sit at the top of the NESCAC West Division with a 5-1 record, 11-5 overall. The Cardinals are in fourth in the NESCAC at 2-4. The next game for the Cardinals is Wednesday at Eastern Conn. State. Game time is 5:00 p.m.
“Defensively we are doing better, we are a very enthusiastic team with confidence. The wins will come,” said Shea.
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