NEW LONDON, CT. – The Wesleyan softball team competed in their first non-conference game since returning from their spring break trip in Florida Wednesday. The Cardinals competed in a double-header against Coast Guard, dropping both contests. In game one, the Bears got out to a quick 5-0 lead heading into the top of the 5^th inning. The Cardinals responded with a four-run 5^th, but could never complete the comeback, falling to the Bears 6-4. Game two got out to a slow start with neither team scoring until the top of the 3^rd, where the Cardinals pushed one across. Coast Guard responded with a monstrous eight-run bottom half of the 3^rd to take a commanding lead. They would never look back, securing a 12-1 victory in five innings. Coast Guard picks up two more wins, improving to 12-2. Wesleyan drops both games to fall to 8-10.
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS (6-4 Loss)

• The Cardinals were put down in order to open the game in the top of the first by Coast Guard's Isabelle Shroyer. The Bears then came to the plate and delivered the first run of the game on two hits and a sacrifice fly to head into the 2^nd with a 1-0 lead. Both Shroyer and Kelly Baker '26 were dominate in the 2^nd, holding each offense without a run going into the top of the 3^rd
• Wesleyan managed to get two runners on in the top of the 3^rd, but once again the Bears shut the door to hold their two-run advantage. The Bears came through once again at the plate in their half, driving in their third run on a sacrifice fly following a double and stolen base by Christine Carey to now lead 2-0
• Both teams had big offensive middle innings, starting in the bottom of the 4^th where the Bears piled on three more runs. Coast Guard finished the half-inning with four hits including an RBI-triple, to up their advantage to 5-0. The Cardinals would come back with four runs of their own in the top of the 5^th inning. Lizzie Marino '25 got the scoring started with a two-run single back up the middle to trim the deficit to 5-2. Hannah Docktor '24 then doubled, followed by a Molly Lennon '26 walk and the bases were loaded for Isabella Secaira-Cotto '25. The sophomore delivered an RBI-single, which was then ensued by a Krissy Gately '24 sacrifice fly and the Cards were right back in it at 5-4
• Brooklin Williams '23 came in to pitch the final 2.1 innings of the game, holding the Bears to only one more run (unearned) and giving the Cardinals offense a chance in the last two innings of play. Wesleyan would not be able to record a hit in the 6^th or 7^th, with just one baserunner on a walk in the final frame to fall 6-4 to Coast Guard

 
NOTES:

• Williams (2.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) came in relief of Baker (3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER) and held the Bears to just one run (unearned) over the final two plus innings
• Marino (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R) was the standout hitter for the Cardinals, putting together her 3^rd two-hit performance of the season
• The Bears outhit the Cardinals 9-8 in this one, finishing with three extra-base hits to the Cards one

 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

• The first two innings were scoreless, with Secaira-Cotto and Dana Walker combining to hold the two offenses to only two hits combined. The best scoring chance came from the Bears who led off with a double, but were then retired quickly by Secaira-Cotto to hold the score at 0-0 going into the 3^rd inning
• Wesleyan struck first in the top of the 3^rd inning, as after a leadoff groundout Revi Brown '23 ripped a triple into the gap that had the Cardinals in business. Brown would eventually score on an RBI-groundout and the Cards held a 1-0 lead. The Bears came back with a huge bottom-half, scoring eight runs on seven hits including two doubles to take a 8-1 lead going into the 4^th
• The Cardinals went down relatively easy in the top half of the 4^th, getting one on due to an error before the Bears offense continued their momentum into the bottom of the 4^th. They added four more in the inning, on four hits and a walk to strengthen their already sizeable advantage. The Cardinals tried to extend the game by scoring in the top of the 5^th, but could only manage one hit on a Alexis Amante '26 double before they were retired and the game ended 12-1

 
NOTES:

• Coast Guard's Walker (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K's) held the Cardinals to a season-low two hits
• Amante (1-for-1, 2B) gets her first collegiate hit as a Cardinal with a pinch-hit double. Brown secures their 2^nd career double
• The Bears outhit the Cardinals 13-2, with both teams leaving four runners on base

 
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals will move on to play in a NESCAC double-header on Saturday, April 1^st at 12 and 2 pm. They will face off against the Bantams of Trinity, a team that they have not played since the 2019 season where they split, with the loss ending Wesleyan's nine-game winning streak against their interstate rivals.