WATERVILLE, ME – Wesleyan baseball has their season end Saturday, being defeated in the first two games of a best-of-three series against Colby in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament. In the first game, the Cardinals got out to a slow start, trailing 9-2 after the 2
nd inning before mounting an enormous comeback. Wesleyan scored the next six runs, including one in the top of the 9
th, to tie the game up at nine and force extra innings. After a scoreless 10
th, the Mules hit a walk-off home run courtesy of Cabot Maher to take game one. Game two was a little less dramatic, with the Mules leading from start to finish, winning 10-1 and advancing to the next round of the NESCAC Tournament. The Cardinals end their season 18-16, while Colby advances and improves their record to 23-11.
HIGHLIGHTS (GAME 1, 10-9 (11 IN) LOSS)
- The Mules got on the board early in game number one. After holding Wesleyan without a run in the top half of the 1st, Colby pushed across two in the bottom half on a Cabot Maher 2-run shot that brought home Brady O'Brien
- Wesleyan answered back in the top of the 2nd to retake the lead. Two Cardinals reached base on Mules' errors bringing up Dylan Judd '22 who delivered a three-run home run to put the Cardinals up top 3-2. The Mules quickly responded with a seven-run bottom half of the inning. The Mules scored their seven runs on seven hits including a Cole Palmeri grand slam to take a commanding 9-3 lead
- Wesleyan scored one run in the 3rd (Luke Lasaracina '25 RBI-double) and one in the 4th (Jimmy Clifford '23 home run) to trim the deficit to just four. They then went for three more runs in the 5th to turn it back into a game. They scored those three runs without recording a hit (three walks, hit by pitch, one error).
- The Cardinals tied it in the top of the 9th on a Wes Fritch '22 lead off home run to force extra innings. After a scoreless 10th, the Mules' Cabot Maher hit his 2nd home run of the contest to help Colby take game one of the series
NOTES:
- Wesleyan hits three home runs in a game for the first time this season
- Dylan Judd (2-for-4, HR) had a career-high 4 RBI
- Clifford (1-for-4, 2 runs) and Lasaracina (1-for-5) contributed two RBI
HIGHLIGHTS (GAME 2, 10-1 LOSS)
- It was all Colby in game two. It started in the 1st inning when O'Brien homered to give the Mules and early 1-0 lead. They would slowly expand their lead, scoring one in the 3rd and two in the 4th while holding the Wesleyan offense without a run
- The Mules added three more runs in the 6th on two hits to balloon their lead to 7-0. Wesleyan finally got on the board in the top of the 7th when Adam Geibel '22 hit a RBI-single.
- The Mules offense added three more insurance runs in the 8th to put the game out of reach. They scored their three runs on only one hit, while holding the Cardinals scoreless the remainder of the game
NOTES:
- Colby outhit Wesleyan 10-7
- Adam Geibel (2-for-4) drives in a run for the 14th game this season
- Wesleyan uses eight pitchers