MIDDLETOWN, CT. – Battling raining and overcast conditions at Dresser Diamond on Saturday afternoon, the Wesleyan baseball team split the series doubleheader with Hamilton College, falling 6-5 in Game One before picking up their second win over Hamilton with a 3-2 final score.
Clearing two of the three games over the Continentals this weekend, the Cardinals (7-9 overall, 2-1 NESCAC) tried to pick up where they left off from Friday night's victory, but it was the Continentals (9-7overall, 1-2 NESCAC) that jumped to an early lead that eventually ended in extra innings. A fielder's choice call put the Continentals up by one in the first inning and would take a two-run lead at the top of the second.
The Cardinals, led by
Evan Diaz '25 through game one, began to pick up momentum at the bottom of the second as Diaz was walked on the first at bat.
James Marsden's '26 single to the first baseman placed Diaz on third but it was another walk for
Marcus Jang '26 that loaded the bases. Singling out left,
Jack Carpenter '25 earned the double RBI to send both Diaz and Marsden home, tying the game at two.
Regaining their lead by just one, the Continentals scored a third run on the next rotation but a three-run third inning for the Cardinals was enough to give them their first lead of the game.
Jake Acker '27 kickstarted the campaign, smashing a single through the left side before Diaz followed suit. Batting a double to right center,
Connor Sullivan '26 gave the Cardinals a two-run lead as Diaz reached home for a second time on Acker's heels. Sullivan's efforts were rewarded with his own run,
Luke LaSaracina '25 sending him home.
While the Continentals managed to tie the game up at five at the top of the fifth, it was Jang that held the Continentals to a tie game, forcing an eighth inning. Now within one, the Continentals scored on a sacrificed fly, but Jang's catch over the top of the outfield fence kept the Continentals' second runner at first.
With wind picking up and the temperatures dropping, both teams entered the eighth inning tied up at five, but it was the Continentals that ultimately wrangled a sixth run on a right side single.
Kevin Brown '28 pitched the opening four innings for the Cardinals, allowing four runs and five hits with two strikeouts.
Shamus Kelly '28 took his first loss of the season pitching the final four innings with three strikeouts and allowing just two earned runs.
While game one may have been extended, game two was called after seven innings. The Cardinals earned a marginal victory with
David Tirrell '25 on the mound pitching every inning, earning the first complete game of the season.
Just as they did in game one, the Continentals were the first to the board with two runs in the opening inning. Jang finally hit home plate with the first run for the Cardinals to cut the score in half. Jang hit a double to right center, advancing to third on Carpenters' next hit. Jang scored with
Ernie Little '26 reaching second on a second base error. Little tied the game at two, leaving the Continentals' lead short lived with Acker leveling a ball to the left field. The final run of the game went to Acker, cementing the runs on a left field single by
Jonah Timmons '27.
Tirrell would strike out four more batters in the final five innings, bringing his afternoon total to five as he dished out 97 pitches in the rain. Allowing just two earned runs, Tirrell only saw three hits of the 23 at bats.
The Cardinals return to action on Wednesday, April 2, when they head to Mitchell for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference matchup in New London, CT.
