MIDDLETOWN, CT- Wesleyan softball drops both of their games to Amherst Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season. The Cardinals celebrated Senior Day today, honoring their four senior players who have been instrumental in one of the more monumental one-year turnarounds in NESCAC history. Wesleyan finishes the season 13-18 (4-8 NESCAC), a 12-win improvement from a team just a year ago that went 1-14 (1-10 NESCAC) in the shortened season. Amherst put a damper on Wesleyan's impressive turnaround season with two wins on Saturday, defeating the Cardinals 10-4 then 2-0 to end the regular season. Wesleyan finishes 4^th in the NESCAC West, while Amherst earns first place in the NESCAC West with a 10-3 record (22-7 overall). Wesleyan will travel to play the #1 team in the east division which is Tufts.
 
HIGHLIGHTS (GAME 1, 10-4 LOSS)

• Amherst got out to a hot start, taking a 3-1 lead over the first two innings. The Mammoths plated one in the 1^st, before adding two in the top of the 2^nd to take a 3-0 lead. Wesleyan came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 2^nd after Darlene De La Cruz '25 came across after doubling earlier in the inning
• The game followed the same script in the 3^rd and 4^th as it did in the 1^st and 2^nd with Amherst scoring one run in the 3^rd followed by two runs in the 4^th then Wesleyan plating one in the bottom of the 4^th thanks to an Alexis Campbell '22 RBI-single
• Wesleyan looked like they might push for a comeback, scoring two in the 5^th to cut the lead to just two, but Amherst responded with two runs in each of the final two innings to put the Cardinals away

NOTES:

• All four of the Cardinals' seniors recorded hits
• Krissy Gately '24 (1-for-2, 2 RBI) had her 4^th multi-RBI game of the season
• Wesleyan outhit Amherst 12-11

 
HIGHLIGHTS (GAME 2, 2-0 LOSS)

• Both teams went down 1-2-3 in the 1^st, foreshadowing a pitcher's dual between Isabella Secaira-Cotto '25 and Dani Torres Werra
• Amherst got on the board in the 2^nd, taking advantage of a walk and their only hit of the inning that drove in the first run of the game
• The game remained 1-0 in favor of the Mammoths going into the bottom of the 6^th in what was Wesleyan's best chance to get a run across. Hannah Docktor '24 hit a lead off triple down the right field line that set up the Cardinals with the tying run on 2^nd, no outs, and the middle of their lineup coming up. Werra and Amherst were able to recover, putting the middle of the Cardinals lineup down in order to preserve their 1-0 lead
• After a leadoff triple of their own in the top of the 7^th, the Mammoths were able to get the run across. They forced a rundown after a pitch in the dirt, able to reach home plate before the tag by Sophia Sciarappa '22. Wesleyan was able to get a runner on in the final frame, but Werra and the Mammoths were able to close out the 2-0 victory

NOTES:

• Two of Wesleyan's six hits on the night came from Krissy Gately (2-for-3)
• Isabella Secaira-Cotto (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K's) had a solid performance on the mound
• Wesleyan was held scoreless for the 1^st time in NESCAC play this season

 
UP NEXT:
Wesleyan now moves into NESCAC conference tournament play next weekend. They will travel to Medford, Massachusetts to face off against the #1 seed from the NESCAC East Division, the Tufts Jumbos on Friday May 6^th at 2:30 PM.