MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Wesleyan softball's bats came alive on Saturday as the Cardinals mashed 23 hits and scored 16 runs combined on Saturday in a home doubleheader against Middlebury. The Cardinals (1-6, 1-6) were victorious, 7-2, in game one before dropping game two, 11-9, to split the doubleheader with the Panthers (2-5, 1-4).

Coming in with 11 runs scored through the first five games of 2021, Wesleyan's offense was on full display on Saturday as Courtney Collins-Pisano '22, Hannah Docktor '24 and Sophia Sciarappa '22 each tallied four hits while the trio combined to go 12-for-21 with 13 runs, three extra-base hits, seven RBI, four walks and eight stolen bases. Ciara Castillo '23, Revi Brown '23 and Alexis Campbell '22 added three hits apiece throughout the two games.

Highlights Game 1 (W, 7-2)

• Sophia Marlino got things started with a rock shot to center that left the park and put Middlebury out in front 1-0 after one
• Wesleyan, however, was quick to answer as Campbell doubled to the fence out in left center, scoring both Collins-Pisano and Sciarappa as Wesleyan took the 2-1 lead after one
• The bases were loaded with one out for Middlebury in the second but Brown was up to the task in the circle, inducing a fielder's choice out at home followed up a pop up back to the sophomore as Middlebury left the bases loaded in the inning
• After Middlebury tied the game in the fourth, Wesleyan plated the go-ahead runs in the fifth as Docktor's first career triple set the stage for Sciarappa who singled back up the middle to make it 3-2 Cardinals
• Later in the same inning, Campbell again came up with an extra-base hit as her double to deep left center scored Sciarappa from third and made it 4-2 Wesleyan heading into the sixth
• As Brown continued to turn through the Middlebury lineup, she helped her own cause with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth before coming around to score on a Collins-Pisano RBI single
• Up three and with two outs, Wesleyan plated a couple of insurance tallies Docktor turned on a pitch and blasted her first career home run up and over the left field fence as the two-run bomb put Wesleyan out in front 7-2
• With a five-run cushion, Brown allowed just one hit in the seventh, closing the door on a complete game victory in which she limited the Panthers to just one run after the first inning of play

NOTES

• The top three hitters of the Wesleyan lineup (Collins-Pisano: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 SB; Docktor: 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Sciarappa: 1-for-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 SB) combined to score six of the seven Cardinal runs while chipping in five of the team's nine hits
• Campbell went 2-for-3 with two doubles and 3 RBI
• Castillo recorded a hit and walk as she reached base safely in two of her three plate appearances
• Brown went the distance for the Cardinals in the circle, picking up her first career win in her 7.0 innings of work, allowing just five hits and two runs (one earned) with three walks and three strikeouts
• For Brown, it was a career day as she tossed a complete game for the first time in her career while giving up a career-low five hits and two runs

Highlights Game 2 (L, 11-9)

• The fireworks started early in this one as Middlebury plated five runs in the top of the first as the Panthers batted around in the inning that included four hits
• Wesleyan chipped away with three runs in the bottom half as Brown executed a perfect bunt down the third base line to score Docktor from third and Olivia Adams '23 followed with an infield single that scored two as the throw to first got away from the Middlebury shortstop, allowing Campbell to come home from second and make it 5-3 Panthers after one
• Two more Panther runs came home in the second as the big hit of the inning was a Melanie Mandell double to left center that scored Emily Moore all the way from first
• Wesleyan continued to fight back as Collins-Pisano walked, stole second and later came around on a Sciarappa single to right center as the Cardinals trailed 7-4 after two
• After two straight shutdown innings from the Wesleyan pitching staff, the Cardinals' bats came alive in the fourth as the bases were loaded with no one out but just two runs came home, the first on a passed ball and the second on a Campbell RBI groundout to short
• Seeing their 5-0 lead dwindle down to a 7-6 advantage, Middlebury answered with a four-run fifth to push their lead back up to 11-6
• The Cardinals again didn't go away quietly as two runs were plated in the fifth and another in the sixth, bringing the deficit to 11-9 heading into the seventh
• In the bottom half, Wesleyan was down to its final out before Sciarappa was hit-by-a-pitch, bringing the game-tying run in Campbell to the plate but the junior went down on a strikeout to end the game and salvage a split for the visiting Panthers

NOTES

• In a full-out offensive slugfest, the two sides combined for 20 runs on 28 hits in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader
• The 14 hits in game two represented the most for Wesleyan in a game since the 2019 season (16 hits vs. Trinity in 11-6 win on 4/23/19)
• Sciarapa was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, 2 RBI, one run and one walk as she reached base in all four plate appearances
• Collins-Pisano was 2-for-3 with three runs and two walks
• Docktor went 2-for-5 with three runs and 2 RBI
• Eight of the nine Cardinals in the batting order recorded at least one hit
• Brown (2-for-3, 1 RBI) and Adams (2-for-4, 1 RBI) each tallied multi-hit games
• Krissy Gately '24 recorded her first career double
• Brooklin Williams '23 took the loss in the circle (2.0 innings, six hits, seven runs) while Brown put forth a solid effort in relief (5.0 innings, four runs (three earned) allowed)

UP NEXT
The Cardinals wrap up the weekend series against the Panthers with a single game tomorrow in Middlebury with the first pitch set for 2 PM.