Fueled by their previous week’s tough losses, the Cardinals came in to this weekend’s double-header against Middlebury ready to play with the same resilience they had displayed earlier in this season. Despite losses in both games, the women showed a lot of toughness and came away having performed admirably against their strong opponents.
Going into the weekend’s games, the Wesleyan University softball team was frustrated by the events of the past week. The previous week, the team had been trounced by scores of 9-1 and 8-0 in a doubleheader against Williams. A few days later, after seeing the results of a few other NESCAC games, the Cardinals learned that they had been essentially eliminated from conference tournament contention. The team was not demoralized however, and vowed to continue playing with the same intensity they showed all season.
Dayna Yorks ’07 summed up the teams attitude.
“[We went] into the Middlebury games with nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Yorks said.
Even after the long drive up to Middlebury, the Cardinals were able to come into the games with substantial energy. While the Cardinals had nothing left to play for in terms of their record with their elimination from playoff contention, they played like a team with no tomorrow. The Cardinals lost the first game, 5-4, but there were a few key standout performances.
In addition to her two hits and run, Marsha Whitehead ’08 played remarkable defense at third base, and was compared to a “human vacuum cleaner” by teammate Vicky Russo ’08.
The player of the game for the Cardinals, however, was Molly O’Connell ’09, who hit a double to left-center field with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, driving in three runs. The Cardinals, off the clutch hit, took the lead 4-3. Unfortunately, the Cards were unable to hang on to the lead, as the Middlebury squad scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the victory.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals again played well, but were unable to claim a victory over their hosts. Karla Hargrave ’08 pitched nine strong innings, allowing only three runs (two earned) off of five hits. After eight innings of play, including two extra innings, the score was still tied 1-1, as the game had turned into a pitching duel between Hargrave and Middlebury hurler Brittany Burke.
In the ninth inning the Cardinals took the lead, as Molly Gaebe ’07 scored off of Russo’s double to centerfield. Unfortunately, Middlebury was able to tie the score again in the bottom of the inning, and the game went to a tenth inning. In similar fashion, the Cardinals took the lead, putting pressure on their hosts. This time the Cardinals scored off a double to left-centerfield by Julia Chamberlin ’09 that brought in Katie Grogan ’09 and Hailey Sarage ’09. The Cardinals, however, were again unable to hold on to their lead, as the Panthers found a way to sneak in three runs in the bottom of the inning, taking the game 5-4.
The pair of losses was certainly disappointing for the Cardinals, but the team left Vermont feeling that it had played some of the best softball of the entire season.
“We played really well and minimized our mistakes,” Russo said. “We came from behind in both games and got a lot of keys hits and made a lot of great plays to stay in the game. If we play like we did this weekend in the rest of our games, we will definitely come out on top.”
The Cardinals play today at Elms College and will face Mitchell College in a double header at home next Thursday.
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