TUCSON, Az. – Patrick Murphy '24 tossed seven shutout innings, leading the Wesleyan baseball team to a 5-0 season-opening win over Gustavus Adolphus in Arizona. The Cardinals (1-0) scored two first inning runs and never looked back, defeating a Gusties (6-2) team that had lost just once in their first seven games of 2024.
 
Coming off a breakout junior year wherein he led the team in nearly every pitching statistic, Murphy opened the new season with a stellar seven-inning outing to pick up the win. He allowed just four hits and three walks with six strikeouts on 106 pitches. Between the fourth and sixth innings, Murphy retired nine consecutive batters while he allowed just one hit after the second inning.
 
Murphy set the tone for the afternoon in the first inning. After allowing a leadoff single, Murphy got the next two batters swinging before a double put two Gusties in scoring position with two outs. Even with the pressure, Murphy induced a fly out to end the inning unscathed.
 
The Cardinal offense supplied a couple runs in the bottom half of the first, with Ernie Little '26 reaching on a leadoff walk followed by a Cole Torino '24 single moved Little to third. Little came around to score on an error by Gustavus pitcher Luke Siegle and Torino was driven in by an RBI single to center from Tyler Cosgrove '25.
 
As Murphy settled into the game, Wesleyan added two more runs in the fourth. With two runners in scoring position, Matt Halas '24 put on a safety squeeze, reaching first base safely while Evan Diaz '25 scored from third. Little then came up big with a two-out run-scoring single to right that plated Halas and made it 4-0 Cardinals.
 
Murphy's day ended after seven innings, with Ian Appleby '24 entering at the top half of the eighth and going right to work with consecutive strikeouts in a scoreless inning of relief.
 
Wesleyan added an insurance run in the bottom half as Diaz came all the way around from first, scoring on a James Marsden '26 triple to center field.
 
Appleby finished the job and the shutout win in the ninth as he allowed two batters to reach base but got the final two outs on a pop up and fielder's choice.
 
Murphy earns the win, improving to 6-2 in his last 10 starts dating back to the start of the 2023 season. Torino had a two-hit day from the #2 spot in the lineup while Marsden reached base safely in three of his four plate appearances as the sophomore recorded two walks and his RBI triple in the eighth.
 
The Cardinals are back in action tomorrow as a doubleheader against Augsburg is slated to begin at 12:30 PM (EST) / 9:30 AM (PST).