WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – The Wesleyan baseball team competed in their third game in two days against Little Three rival Williams Monday afternoon in Williamstown. The two teams split just a day ago and both were looking to claim the best two out of three regular season series. The Ephs led 3-1 after one in a fast start that saw both offenses get going early. Wesleyan took the lead back in the 4^th, eventually extending it to 7-3 going into the bottom of the 5^th, before Williams added three of their own to trim their deficit to one. The Cards added an insurance run in the top of the 8^th, but the Ephs responded again with a three-run bottom of the 8^th to pull out a come-from-behind NESCAC victory, 9-8. Williams improves to 7-6 (2-1 NESCAC) with the win, Wesleyan falls to 6-9 (1-2 NESCAC) with the defeat.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• The game got out to a fast start, with Connor Boudreau '25 getting aboard on a walk and working his way to third on a stolen base and fielding error with only one out. He was then driven in on an RBI-groundout by Kyle Sylvester '22 to get the Cardinals on the board first at 1-0. Williams then came right back with three runs of their own in the bottom half, starting with a leadoff triple by Mike Giove. Giove's double was followed by a walk then a 3-run home run from Henry Juan and the Ephs held a 3-1 lead heading into the 2^nd inning
• After a scoreless 2^nd, Wesleyan's bats got going again in the 3^rd and 4^th innings. Sylvester was the run producer again for the Cardinals in the 3^rd, driving in Boudreau and Luke LaSaracina '25 who both walked earlier in the inning, on a two-run single to center that evened the score 3-3. The Cardinals weren't done as the game hit extra innings, taking back the lead with a two-run 4^th inning. This time it was Jimmy Clifford '22 with the big hit, driving in two on a single to center field and Wesleyan took a 5-3 lead
• The Cardinals stayed hot at the plate in the 5^th, extending their lead with two more runs. Boudreau and Sylvester continued their impressive days with base hits to open the inning, both eventually scoring on RBI-groundouts to give Wes a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom half. Williams responded again in the bottom of the 5^th, this time in a big way, pushing three across on three hits and the Wesleyan lead was shrunk to one
• Both teams' relief pitchers began to settle in, holding each team without a run in the 6^th and 7^th innings. LaSaracina gave the Cards an insurance run in the top half of the 8^th on a single to left field that scored Evan Diaz '25, but once again Williams had the answer in the bottom half. The Ephs pushed across three runs on four hits, including two doubles, that helped them retake the lead at 9-8 heading into the 9^th. Wesleyan managed to get one on in the final frame via a hit by pitch, but that was it as the Ephs completed the comeback

 
NOTES:

• Each team used a handful of pitchers, combining to utilize 10 different arms in the high-scoring affair
• Sylvester (3-for-5, R, 3 RBIs) completes his 2^nd three-hit game of the year and 2^nd three-RBI game of the season. Clifford (2-for-4, R, RBI) and Ricky Finkel '22 (2-for-4, R, RBI) join Sylvester with multi-hit games
• Boudreau (1-for-3, 3 R, 2 BB) had a career-high three runs to go along with two stolen bases. Wesleyan as a team finished with six stolen bases
• The Ephs outhit the Cardinals 14-10. Both teams' were led by the top of their order. Williams' top five hitters went 13-for-21, while the rest of their lineup combined to hit 1-for-15.

 
UP NEXT:
The Cardinals will continue their populated stretch of games with their 4^th in three days tomorrow, April 4^th in a non-conference game against Johnson & Wales at Dresser Diamond.