MIDDLETOWN, CT. – The Wesleyan baseball team concluded their regular season with a victory over Nichols in a high-scoring marathon that went nearly four hours, before being cut short due to darkness. Wesleyan fell behind early but came back from a 7-0 deficit, to take an 11-9 lead into the 7^th. The Cardinals continued to add runs to over the next two innings to take a 15-10 advantage into the top of the 9^th inning. The Bison wouldn't go away however, putting together a handful of hits and walks to even the game at 15. The multiple runners on, pinch runners, and mound visits forced the game to end following the conclusion of the top of the 9^th, leading to the game being decided based on the score through eight innings of play. This worked in the Cardinals favor, as they were leading 15-10 through eight. Nichols falls to 15-21 with the loss, while Wesleyan improves to 16-17 heading into NESCAC Tournament play this weekend.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• The scoring started early in this one, with the Bison jumping on Wesleyan pitching early to obtain a 1^st inning lead. They put together six hits, which led to five runs and they had what seemed to be an early comfortable advantage. They built on that lead in the 2^nd, adding two more runs on a single hit to go up 7-0 through 1 ½ innings of play. Wesleyan responded in the bottom half with three of their own to build some momentum. Jack Nally '24 sent one over the left field fence for a two-run home run to get Wes on the board. James Marsden '26 singled home Ernie Little '26 who had doubled just before him, and Wesleyan cut into the deficit at 7-3 heading into the 3^rd
• Jimmy Clifford '23 continued the comeback effort in the 3^rd with a deep RBI-double to left center field to cut the Nichols lead to just 7-4. Cole Torino '24 nearly drove in another on an infield single, but Clifford was thrown out trying to score from 2^nd and the game moved to the 4^th. The Bison found their bats again with two more runs on two hits and pushed their lead back out to 9-4
• The Cardinals continued to chip away, adding two more in the 5^th to make it 9-6. Luke LaSaracina '25 drove home Evan Diaz '25 who hit one of his two triples on the day just before him. Wes eventually loaded the bases, and Torino worked a walk which led to their 6^th run of the contest. They then completed the comeback in the 6^th, plating five runs on four hits for their first lead of the contest. LaSaracina started the scoring again with a two RBI-double to right center that was eventually followed by a Clifford double that scored him and Diaz to make it 10-9. Wes added one more on a wild pitch to reach 11-9 going into the 7^th
• Nichols cut it to one with a run in the 8^th, but Wes came right back with a big bottom of the 8^th inning. Kyle Sylvester '22 got into the action with a bloop single to left field that scored two and they extended their lead to 13-10. A hit by pitch and walk drove in the last two runs and Wesleyan had a five-run advantage going into the final frame. The Bison wouldn't go out quietly, putting together a combination of hits and walks to even the score at 15. The half inning lasted for what seemed like forever with a multitude of meetings and changes on both sides, ultimately leading to the field getting too dark to play the bottom of the 9^th. This led to the final score having to be through eight innings since the bottom half wasn't completed which gave Wes a 15-10 victory in the regular season finale

 
NOTES:

• Dylan Judd '22 (4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB) picked up the win in the high-scoring contest, with a few solid innings of relief
• The Cardinals put up a season-high 20 hits against the Bison. Nichols finished with 12 of their own
• LaSaracina (4-for-5, 4 R, 3 RBIs) had a career day, having career-highs in hits (4) and tying his career mark in runs with four
• Three more Cardinals had three hits in: Nally (3-for-6, HR, 2 R, 2 RBIs), Little (3-for-5, 2 R), and Clifford (3-for-4, R, 3 RBIs). Nally hits his 3^rd home run of the season, while Clifford collect his first three-hit game of 2023
• There were contributions from all over, with every Cardinal who got an at-bat reaching base and eight of the nine recording a base hit

 
UP NEXT:
Next up for the Cardinals will be a home NESCAC Tournament game where they will host the Bowdoin Polar Bears in a best of three series. The series will open with two game Saturday at 12 and 3:30 pm, with a Sunday morning game three if necessary.