MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – On a frigid afternoon with temps in the high 30's, the Wesleyan softball team dropped both games in a home doubleheader against Hamilton, 5-0 and 5-4, on what was the NESCAC opener for both teams. Wesleyan drops to 6-8 on the season while the Continentals jump to 8-6.
 
A four-run 1^st inning for Hamilton proved more than enough for starting pitcher Natalie Beebe who tossed a complete game shutout with no walks and seven strikeouts. Two Cardinal errors in that 1^st inning proved costly, leading to three unearned runs as the Hamilton offense took advantage with three run-scoring hits.
 
The Cardinals had their best chance up to that point in the 3^rd inning as Darlene De La Cruz '25 led off with a double. Wesleyan later had two runners in scoring position with one out, but a fly out and strikeout left both on-base.
 
Hamilton tacked on another run as Alexis Mayer tagged up from third and scored on another error for the Cardinal defense.
 
Wesleyan again had runners on second and third in the 5^th inning, but couldn't get the big hit as Waverly Smart '27 grounded out to third to end the frame. And then again in the 6^th inning, for the third time in the game, Wesleyan had two runners in scoring position, but again came up empty as Beebe retired the next two batters.
 
Hannah Docktor '24 doubled to left center in the 7^th, but the Cardinals ultimately fell 5-0 in game one. Seven different Cardinals recorded a hit in the contest while Isabella Secaira-Cotto '25 pitched well in defeat, going the distance and allowing eight hits, one earned run, and no walks with one strikeout.
 
Game two saw a back-and-forth battle as Wesleyan led 1-0 before Hamilton plated three runs in the 3^rd to take a 3-1 lead. It was 4-2 Continentals entering the bottom of the 6^th when the Cardinals loaded the bases trailing by one with two outs. Lizzie Marino '25 stepped to the plate and hit a hard grounder up the middle that was snagged by the second baseman. Jordynn Killion '27 scored from third to tie the game, but Docktor rounded third and made a play for home but was gunned down by the shortstop, keeping the game tied 4-4 after six.
 
That momentum-flipping play to end the 6^th led directly to a go-ahead run in the 7^th for Hamilton as Jordan Merklin led off with a double, was sacrificed over to third, and then came in on a Mayer single to left.
 
Mayer's RBI single proved to be enough as Emma Tansky entered in relief of Teagan Graham at the start inning and retired the side in-order to seal the Continental's sweep.
 
A promising start to game two saw Killion slap an RBI single to right in the 1^st, giving Wesleyan an early lead. Revi Brown '23 retired six of the first seven batters they faced before Hamilton scored three in the 3^rd, with two runs coming in on an error.
 
The Cardinals drew one run closer in the 5^th as Smart hit an RBI groundout to second to make it 3-2 Hamilton entering a decisive 6^th inning.
 
Brown threw well in defeat, going six inning with eight hits and five runs (three earned) allowed on one walk with three strikeouts.
 
Killion went 2-for-3 at the plate with 1 RBI and one run scored while Marino went 2-for-4 with 1 RBI to lead the Cardinal offense.
 
The Cardinals are back in action next weekend with a pair of road doubleheaders at Amherst on Friday and at Middlebury on Saturday.