Like almost every game the Cardinal softball team has played this season, its finale against Bates on Sunday was decided in the final inning.
Unlike the majority of the close games, which the team lost, the Cardinals pulled out a dramatic victory, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim a 7-6 victory in front of an excited crowd of 75 fans. The rally occurred entirely with two outs and was punctuated by an RBI by Captain Sarah Gillooly ’06 in her final at-bat as a Cardinal.
“It was the best way to go out,” Gillooly said. “I just wanted to come up to the plate and hit the ball hard. It was a great way to end our season, and end my career.”
The Cardinals finished their season strong, winning a game earlier in the day against Bates to end the season with a three-game winning streak. This streak began in spectacular fashion the day before the Bates doubleheader. In the second game in a home doubleheader against Hamilton, Karla Hargrave ’08 threw the first recorded no-hitter in a Cardinal softball game. Her six innings of pitching were spectacular, and she only allowed Hamilton two base runners in the game.
Hargrave’s performance was no fluke, as she constantly baffled hitters over the course of the second half of the season. Her hot streak included winning three games in a row, a game against Elms College where she struck out a school record of 15 batters, and four-hitters against Bowdoin and Trinity. Additionally, she only gave up 13 hits and one earned run over her final 31.2 innings pitched this season. Her breakthrough in the second half of the season gives Wesleyan two ace pitchers going into next year, as both she and Molly Gaebe ’07 are set to be two of the best hurlers in the NESCAC.
Hargrave’s performances were the spark for the Cardinals end-of-season run, which included eight wins in the final 11 games.
“Whenever a team has been struggling, it needs someone to step up and set a tone, which Karla definitely did,” said Marcia Whitehead ’08.
The Cardinals’ play picked up dramatically once they were eliminated from NESCAC playoff contention. Gaebe attributed this change to the lack of the pressure on the team. The team was looser and more emotional when they no longer had anything to lose, and they played with passion that was missing earlier in the season. In taking both sides of doubleheaders against Bates, Bowdoin, Elms ,and Mitchell College late in the season, the Cardinals showed a new ferocity.
“One of the true signs of a good team is that it does not play down to the level of lesser opponents,” Whitehead said. “During the Elms [doubleheader], Karla really led the team to play our best, as opposed to trying do only the bare minimum.”
The Cardinals hope to take this new attitude into next year. Sunday’s Bates doubleheader portends well for that season. Wanting to end the seniors’ careers in winning fashion, the Cardinals played the games as if their lives depended on the result.
“Next year should be really exciting,” Whitehead said. “We have a lot of young and talented players, and as our season indicates, our learning curve is still pretty steep. With four pitchers returning and a lot of underclassmen who clocked good playing time this year, the possibilities look really good. If we keep working hard, I think next year could definitely be a breakout year.”
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