TUCSON, Az. – Holding a four-run lead entering the 9
th inning, the Wesleyan baseball overcame two errors in the final inning, holding off Carleton in a 9-8 win on Friday afternoon. The win completes Wesleyan's spring break stay in Arizona with a 10-2 record to begin the year.
A day removed from being shutout for the first time this season, the Cardinal bats came back to life as Wesleyan totaled 14 hits which marks the eighth time in 12 games that the Cardinals have recorded 10+ hits.
Seven of the nine runs came in back-to-back innings as Wesleyan plated three in the 2
nd inning and four in the 3
rd to take a 7-3 lead. The Knights took a 3-0 lead, but it could have been worse as
Patrick Murphy '24 induced a groundout with two runners in scoring position to limit the damage in the 2
nd to just one run.
The Cardinal offense came in support of Murphy with a three-run bottom half of the 2
nd as
Tyler Cosgrove '25 and
Jack Nally '24 both doubled to lead off the inning. With one out and runners on second and third,
Cole Torino '24 singled through the right side of the infield, scoring two to tie the score at 3-3.
Murphy retired the side in-order in the 3
rd and the Cardinals scored four more runs in the bottom half. Cosgrove hit a run-scoring single to left before Nally reached on a fielder's choice back to the mound that scored another. With two outs and two runners in scoring position,
Ernie Little '26 came through in the clutch with a two-run single to left.
After allowing three runs in the opening two innings, Murphy settled into the game as he retired 11 of 12 batters from the end of the 2
nd inning to the 6
th, with the lone runner reaching on an error.
Carleton managed one run in both the 6
th and 7
th innings to cut the deficit to two, but Torino again came through with a two-run single, this time in the bottom of the 7
th as he restored the four-run Cardinal lead. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Wesleyan had a great chance to extend their lead, but a pop out and inning-ending double play kept the score at 9-5.
David Tirrell '25 had allowed just two hits and one run in his first two innings of work in relief of Murphy, but the junior ran into some trouble in the 9
th. A hit-by-pitch and single was followed by a double steal of second and home as Carleton now trailed 9-6. The next batter reached on an error and a sacrifice fly made it 9-7 with two outs. Tirrell then got the next batter to hit a fly ball to center that wasn't handled cleanly, allowing another run in. A walk extended the game and put the go-ahead run on first base, but Tirrell was left in the game and came up with the game-ending fly out as the junior picked up his second career save.
After going hit-less in his first five starts of the season, Nally exploded with a 4-for-5 performance including two doubles, 2 RBI, and three runs. Torino had two huge two-run singles, finishing with 4 RBI. Little went 2-for-3 with four stolen baes, 2 RBI, and one walk. After recording a single-season team record 24 steals as a freshman in 2023, Little is already more than halfway to his record as he has 13 steals through 12 games thus far in 2024.
Murphy went six innings allowing eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts, improving to 2-0 on the season. Tirrell finished with the three-inning save, allowing four hits, and two earned runs with one walk and five strikeouts.
Wesleyan is back in action with their home opener on Wednesday, March 27 as the Cardinals host Saint Joseph (CT) at 4 PM.
