MIDDLETOWN,CT – Baseball completes the comeback against Emerson, defeating them 8-7 in their home opener Friday afternoon. Wesleyan found themselves trailing by three entering the 9^th, before timely hitting and a few errors allowed the Cardinals to overcome the late deficit. Ryan Molinari '22 drove in the deciding run in the bottom of the 9^th, hitting a grounder to the right side that was mishandled by the Emerson 2^nd baseman. Wesleyan would win 8-7, giving them their 6^th win of the season (6-5). Meanwhile, Emerson falls to 6-7 in 2022.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Wesleyan offense got out to its usual hot start, with Luke Lasaracina '25 hitting a leadoff triple in the bottom of the 1^st. He was followed by Wes Fritch '22 who doubled down the right field line to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead.
• The Cardinals added another run in the 2^nd, when Matt Halas '24 doubled to left center. Emerson quickly responded in the next half-inning with a run of their own to make it 2-1 going into the bottom of the 3^rd
• Wesleyan's offense threatened again in the 3^rd, putting men on 2^nd and 3^rd with one out. The Cardinals would push across two on a wild pitch and a Jimmy Clifford '23 sacrifice fly, but would leave the door open stranding the bases loaded
• Emerson responded with a big 4^th inning to tie the game up. Jake Okamoto hit a 2-run single past the left side to make the game 4-4. Both team's pitchers held the teams scoreless for the next three innings
• The next score came in the 7^th, when Emerson pushed across one to take a one-run lead. They followed that up with a 2-run 8^th and held a comfortable 7-4 lead going into the 9^th
• The Cardinals wouldn't go away however, scoring four runs in the final half-inning to complete the comeback. Wesleyan loaded the bases with nobody out, and Dylan Judd '22 pushed through the first of four runs on a fielder's choice. Halas came up and delivered a 2-run single back up the middle to cut the deficit to one. After a strikeout, Wesleyan was down to their final out. Fritch walked, bringing Molinari to the plate who's ground ball to the right side ate up the Emerson 2^nd baseman leading to the winning run coming across

 
NOTES:

• Emerson outhit Wesleyan 14-8
• Chris Coll '24 picked up his 2^nd win of the season (2-0), pitching a scoreless top of the 9^th
• Matt Halas (2-for-3, 3 RBI) drives in a career-high three runs
• Wesleyan wins on a walk-off for the 3^rd time this season

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan plays their 1^st true road games Sunday when they travel to play Mitchell in New London, Connecticut.