The men’s baseball team suffered another tough loss on Wednesday to intrastate, non-league rival Eastern Connecticut State University. Despite jumping out to an early lead, the Cardinals were unable to hold on for the victory as Eastern Connecticut poured on the offense to win the game 12-3. Once again, the defense for the Cardinals was less than stellar, as the team committed a season high seven errors against the 13th ranked Division III baseball team in the nation.
The Cardinals came out looking strong with the bats in the first inning. They scored the first two runs on RBIs by Mac Clonan ’05 and Alexander Brooks ’05. In the second inning Eastern Connecticut knotted the game at two, scoring both runs against Wesleyan starting pitcher Louis Gabel ’08. In the bottom half of the inning Adam Kopiec ’07 hit the first home run of the season for the Cards, a solo shot over the leftfield fence. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the last time they scored in the game, as Gabel took the loss after pitching four innings and allowing four runs.
In the fifth inning Kit Tholen ’08 took the mound in relief. Despite only allowing two hits in four innings of work, Eastern Connecticut was able to score three more runs as the Cardinals committed six errors during Tholen’s appearance. Tim Truncellito ’08 came in to close out the game in the ninth inning, but struggled to record the final outs. The Warriors were able to amass five more runs, and Charlie Munzig ’07 came in to stop the bleeding.
“We were happy to hang with them for six innings,” Munzig said. “If we had played a little better in the field, this game was definitely within our reach, which shows what this team is capable of.”
Despite totaling only five hits, the Cardinal bats looked solid for most of the game. The Red and Black hit several balls well, but bad luck and spectacular plays from the Warriors prevented several would be runs. One example was an incredible play by Eastern’s leftfielder, who fell over the outfield wall to rob Clonan of a home run, further proving that balls were not bouncing the Cardinals’ way.
“We showed we can play with one of the better teams in the nation,” Tholen said. “We’re going to put it all together soon. Come watch us win.”
The Cardinals resume league play on Friday, as Hamilton College makes the journey out to Wesleyan. One game will be played at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon, and a Saturday doubleheader will follow. The Cardinals (1-3) expect to take all three games from Hamilton (0-7), as they are the only team behind the Cardinals in the NESCAC West standings.
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