Coming off a disappointing first round exit in the 2024 NESCAC Championships, Wesleyan softball came into 2025 looking to make waves. They kicked off the season with their annual Florida Spring trip, eight days and six double-headers, shaking off the winter chills and getting the team into regular season form.
“I remember my first year going to Florida, 12 games and 8 days sounded like the most overwhelming thing ever,” pitcher Abby Orso MA ’25 said. “But once we get down there, it honestly becomes the most fun part of [the] season, because it’s during break. It’s the only thing you have to do. It just feels so much more like we are able to focus. So it honestly becomes one of the easiest parts of the season, because once we get back, life starts up again.”
The season started with a bang as the Cards put up five runs in the first inning of their season opener against Washington College on Tuesday, March 11 and went on to take the game 8–0. Outfielder Rebecca Cassel-Siskind ’26 put in a 3/3 performance with a solo homer, and Orso dominated both sides of the ball, tossing a complete game, three-hit shutout, and also adding a solo shot of her own.
The dominance continued over the two-day stretch as the Cards secured back-to-back 10–2 wins, first over Regis College to finish out day one and then over Montclair State University the following day. The pitcher/power-hitter combination continued as pitcher Jacelyn Lees ’28 pitched the last two innings against the Pride and hit a two-run bomb, and Orso secured the win against the Red Hawks along with a three-run homer and five RBIs. The second day finished out with an 8–3 win over North Central College.
With one off day to catch their breath, the Cards took the field on Friday, March 14 for yet another two-game slate, first taking on Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and then Pennsylvania State University at Erie. The pitching was the star of the day as Orso pitched a 10-strikeout no-hitter in an 11–0 win against the Monks, and Lees tossed a shutout against the Behrend Lions in a 5–0 win. Orso became the first Cardinal to toss a no-no since 2006, improving her record to 3–0, still without yielding an earned run. With the day, the Cards improved their record to 6–0 and looked to their fourth double header on Saturday, March 15.
With all six of the Cards’ wins coming by five runs or more, they had not faced real adversity just yet; but in their next game, taking on Rutgers University-Camden, they would not run away with a win. In the top of the sixth, the Cards had a healthy 5–2 lead, but the Scarlet Raptors tied it up. At 5–5 in the bottom of the sixth, outfielder Lizzie Marino ’25 hit a clutch RBI single to give the Cards a 6–5 lead which they would hold, winning the game. The next game was a similar story as the Cards went into extra innings against State University of New York at New Paltz before pitcher and first baseman Isabella Secaira-Cotto ’25 got the lead with a sac-fly in the top of the eighth to win the game 3–2, keeping the Cards’ eight game win streak alive.
“Yeah, I think the Rutgers-Camden and the New Paltz day, that was tough for us,” first baseman Cat Palmer ’26 said. “We did not play our best softball, but I think to play not our best and still come out with two wins showed that we are resilient, and it prepared us for tough games in the NESCAC.”
On Monday, March 17, Orso continued her dominant streak, throwing her third shutout of the young season as Wesleyan blanked Smith College 10–0. Going for their 10th straight win, the Cards took on Babson College later that day, and thanks to a one-run gem from Lees, they secured the win 6–1. With a 10–0, the Cards had their best start in program history.
“There was a day that we played Smith and Babson, and that day was important to us because it was familiar competition that [counts] for our rankings in New England,” Orso said. “And they’re both good teams, and we knew the competition beforehand. We knew that we needed to come out with a win. We went in with that mission and came out successful.”
The trip finished out with two close losses (1–3 to Endicott College and 3–4 to Keene State College), but the Cards returned to Middletown ready to continue their hot streak into conference play.
The NESCAC season started with a Saturday, March 22 doubleheader against Bowdoin as the Cards looked to get some revenge on the Polar Bears.
In the first game, the Cards grabbed an early 2–0 lead on RBI singles from first baseman Palmer and Cassell-Siskind, but the Polar Bears capitalized on shaky Cardinal defense to take a one run lead in the fifth, 2–3. With the game on the line in the bottom of the sixth, infielder Molly Lennon ’26 tied the game on an RBI single and soon after, Cassell-Siskind scored on a wild pitch to take a 4–3 lead. The Cards won the game by that score. In the next match, the Red and Black’s offense was not overwhelming, but it didn’t matter as Lees tossed her second shutout of the year, with the Cards winning 2–0.
“We were really hungry to win, especially because we had ended on two losses in Florida, and we wanted the sweep to start NESCAC play to set the season right,” Lees said. “And I think that’s part of the pressure of the first game and why it was so close. But one of the words that we try to define the team as is relentless. We want our team to keep putting pressure, especially hitting-wise. And I think that’s something that was very successful in that series.”
Next weekend, the Cards took on Bates at home. The opening game was a heartbreaker, as the teams took a 2–2 tie into the eighth before the Bobcats scored three runs to hand the Cards a 2–5 loss. But the Cards were determined to avoid getting swept at home. The second game was an absolute pitchers duel, with Lees staying steady with Bates pitcher Brigid Gaffny and keeping the game scoreless through six innings. In the top of the seventh, Lees pitched a 1-2-3 inning and hoped that the offense would come through. In the bottom of the seventh, Orso led off with a single and advanced to second on a sac bunt by Lennon. With two outs, Secaira-Cotto singled up the middle, scoring Orso for a 1–0 walk-off win.
“Obviously, we would have loved to sweep them, but Bates proved themselves to be a pretty competitive team this year,” Palmer said. “I think we were definitely ready for them. I think that a couple more timely hits, and that first game would have gone a bit differently. But, at that point, it was only our third loss of this year, so we took it for what it was, and we used it as an opportunity to learn. And then we came out with the win in the next game, which was big for us, to overcome a loss on our home field against a team that we weren’t really expecting to beat us.”
Boasting a 13–3 record, the Cards faced their first Little Three matchup of the season as Amherst came to Middletown to play two on Friday, April 4. On the first April day without showers, the Cards made up for it, raining down nine runs on the Mammoths. Orso continued her all time season with her fourth shutout as the Cards won 9–0, helped by a solo homer by Secaira-Cotto and a two-run shot by Cassell-Siskind. In the second game, the Cards kept to their winning ways as Secaira-Cotto and Cassell-Siskind kept raking with matching two-run singles in the first and second innings respectively. The Mammoths came back and tied up the game 4–4 in the fourth, but the Cards capitalized off sloppy Amherst play in the fifth and sixth, scoring two runs in each inning to win the game 8–4. Secaira-Cotto finished the day with four hits and three RBIs as Wes swept Amherst for the first time in 15 years.
“Amherst is a really good team,” Lees said. “That’s the first time we swept them in 15 years. And it’s also our coach’s alma mater. So we really wanted to win it for her. And it’s just, especially the second game, it was a pitch by staff mentality, and that’s what got us the win. Bella Secaira-Cotto relieved that game, pitched fantastically, and defense was on fire. So it’s really inspiring as a pitching staff to have a defense that’ll make diving catches and plays, and [it] brings a trust in the team.”
Two days later, the Cards traveled to Medford, Mass. for a Sunday doubleheader with Tufts. The Jumbos beat the Cards in the first round of last year’s NESCAC Championships, so Wesleyan looked to show Tufts how far they had come. The Cards got off to a great start in the first game, with a three-run triple by Lennon putting the exclamation point on a five-run second inning. By the fifth, the Cards were up 7–0, but then the Jumbos crept back in using a five-run sixth to cut the Wesleyan lead to one. The Jumbos tied it up in the seventh and won in walk-off fashion in the eighth, handing the Cards an 8–9 loss. The weekend finished out with a 1–9 loss to the Jumbos, the first time the Cards were swept all year long.
“One thing that I took away from Tufts is that they, as a team, never questioned if they were going to win,” Lees said. “They knew they were going to win. And I think that’s something that we need to take away, and [we need to] put that full trust and faith in ourselves that we will grind through the game and get a win.”
The rough patch continued in non-conference play as the Cards suffered two one-run losses to Albertus Magnus College (2–3, 0–1), with the first loss coming in walk-off fashion. With their first real adversity of the season, the Cards will look to get back on the right track.
The Cards travel to Colby (where Orso will take on her alma mater for the first time) this Friday, April 11, and they will look to get back to their winning ways. But even after a rough week, the Cards have no reason to hang their heads. As of now, they stand at 15–7 overall and 5–3 in NESCAC play, boasting a ridiculous team ERA of 1.88. The tandem of Orso and Lees has been dominant, as the two boast top-5 NESCAC ERAs (fourth with 1.55 and fifth with 1.57, respectively) and top-10 NESCAC batting averages (fifth with .468 and ninth with .429).
“Colby is a good team,” Palmer said. “We swept them last year, but it really goes back and forth between us. So offensively, if we can work together to move runners, put people on base, score, and put pressure on them, we’re going to come out victorious. And then on the other side of the ball, our pitchers having the belief that they are who they are, when somebody goes into the box against Abby, they’re going to be scared to face her. So it should give them a little bit more confidence. We’re looking to get two wins and make it a sweet ride home for Abby.”
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.
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