On Wednesday, April 25, the baseball team fell to Eastern Connecticut State University, which is ranked 11th nationally and second in New England. The Warriors, a perennial New England power, have been Division III National Champions twice in the last 10 years. Their most recent title came in 2002, a campaign during which they posted a 39-11 record. The Warriors have won more than 40 games and repeated as New England champions in each of the past two seasons.
The Warriors made short work of the Cards on Wednesday, putting up 18 hits against a flustered Wesleyan pitching staff. The usually dynamic Wesleyan hurlers simply did not have enough firepower to quell the Warrior bats. Eastern Conn. exploded for nine runs during the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Matt Cooney led the way for Eastern Conn., going four for five at the plate on the day.
The Warrior pitching was also impressive, Mike Tingley (2-0) went eight innings, scattering seven hits and yielding just three unearned runs. Drew Dominguez ’09, in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, was one of the few Cards to break through on Wednesday, hitting a double in the first inning. He later contributed his second hit to the lone Cardinal scoring surge in the eighth with a single after Dan Poniatowski ’08 worked the Eastern Conn. pitcher for a walk. The Cards put up all three of their runs during the eighth. Rob Coughlin ’07 also got two hits for the Cards, singling in the third and doubling in the ninth.
Wesleyan will wind down its NESCAC West schedule this weekend, hosting Little Three rival Williams in a double-header on Saturday, before traveling to Williamstown for the final game of the series on Sunday. Williams has looked strong this year, and holds a 16-7 record overall (6-3 NESCAC).
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