MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After seeing an early lead disappear in game one, the Wesleyan baseball team didn't want to see a mirror image in game two as Dylan Judd '22 bore down with two outs and two Continentals in scoring position and came up with a game-sealing strikeout as the Cardinals managed to hang on for the 4-3 victory, salvaging a split of the Saturday home doubleheader from Dresser Diamond.

Highlights Game 1 (L, 5-8):

• Wesleyan jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after one as the first three Cardinals stepped to the plate and all produced a hit, starting with a leadoff single from Ryan Molinari '22 before he was driven in on a deep Jack Nally '24 RBI triple to right center and Adam Geibel '22 brought Nally home with a run-scoring single through the right side
• Hamilton answered right back in the second with two runs of their own, highlighted by a triple to deep right center field from Brady Slinger that scored Matt McGoey all the way from first
• After Hamilton took their first lead of the game with a run in the third, the Continentals broke the game open with a five-run fifth. Mistakes cost the Cardinals as two wild pitches and one error littered the box score in the inning, with the second wild pitch allowing the fifth run of the frame to cross home plate
• Wesleyan didn't go away quietly, however, as the Cardinals managed two runs in the sixth coming from a Molinari RBI single and Nally drilled an RBI double down the left field line, both with two outs
• And then in the seventh, Wesleyan threatened with three of the first four batters in the inning reaching base, the third of which being a run-scoring single from Ricky Finkel '23 that made it 8-5 Hamilton
• With the tying run at the plate and just one out, Hamilton then turned to David Galvao on the mound who put the game away with consecutive strikeouts to give the Continentals their first win of the 2021 season

NOTES

• The 11 hits for Wesleyan are a season-high while the top of the lineup (Molinari: 2-for-3, 1 RBI; Nally: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 double, 1 triple) combined for five of the 11 Cardinal hits in game one
• Nally (single, double, triple) finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle
• Kyle Sylvester '22 (2-for-4) and Finkel (2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 walk) both produced multi-hit games while Finkel reached base in three of his four plate appearances
• Hamilton got to Wesleyan starter Pat Clare '19, '21 to the tone of eight runs (all earned) on nine hits in Clare's 4.1 innings of work as he took the loss
• Everett Lee '22 (1.2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs) and Chris Coll '24 (1.0 innings, 0 runs, 1 strikeout) combined for 2.2 innings of scoreless work in relief of Clare as the Wesleyan relievers gave their lineup a chance for a late comeback
• Hamilton's Gavin Schaefer-Hood went five scoreless innings after giving up two runs in the first, finishing with six strikeouts and two runs allowed on six hits and no walks as he claimed the victory

Highlights Game 2 (W, 4-3):

• Wesleyan jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the nightcap as well, with Geibel once again coming through with an RBI single, scoring Nally all the way from first on the base hit to make it 1-0. Later in the inning, Finkel followed up a strong game one with an RBI knock to right center to put the Cardinals ahead 2-0
• The lead became 4-0 Wesleyan in the third as a costly Hamilton error in what should have been an inning-ending pop over home plate allowed Finkel to reach first and put the bases loaded with two outs. Sylvester then made the Continentals pay with a knock to center that scored two
• Wesleyan starter Coleton Reitan '22 pitched into the sixth as he was dealing throughout the first five innings, allowing just one run on three hits with nine strikeouts but his sixth and seventh walks to open the sixth forced a pitching change as Scott Shield '22 came on in relief. In a big spot with his team up three but with two runners on and no one out, Shield did well to limit the damage as two runs came across (one on an error, the other a fielder's choice) before he induced a foul out to Eddie Zanor '23 at first to end the inning with the Cardinals still leading 4-3
• Now in the seventh, Shield remained on the mound and had Hamilton down to their first last strike before Slinger kept the game alive with a double down the left field line. Classmate Dylan Judd '22 then came on to try and put the game away but a walk and two stolen bases put the pressure on as the Hamilton go-ahead run was at second before Judd came roaring back as he got Jackson Johns to strikeout swinging, ending the game and giving Wesleyan the 4-3 victory

NOTES

• Reitan picked up his second career victory on the season, moving him to 2-0, as he went 5.0 innings allowing three runs on just three hits while matching his career-high with nine strikeouts
• Shield pitched 1.2 innings of great scoreless work out of the pen, giving up one hit and one walk with one strikeout as he kept the Cardinals ahead in tight spots down the stretch
• Judd's one out was enough to end the game and pick up his first career save
• Sylvester went 2-for-3 with the biggest hit of the game being his two-out, two-run single in the third inning that put Wesleyan ahead 4-0
• Nally scored two runs and had one hit
• Geibel reached base in two of his three plate appearances, going 1-for-2 with 1 RBI, one run and one walk

UP NEXT
The rubber match between these two sides is slated for 3 PM tomorrow from Clinton, New York as Wesleyan looks to take the season series from Hamilton for the first time since 2017 with a win on Sunday.