MIDDLETOWN, CT. – After dropping seven runs in the first inning before even registering a hit, the Wesleyan baseball team made several comeback initiatives including a four-run burst in the second inning, but could not catch Amherst College, falling 17-8 in the first NESCAC matchup in five games from Dresser Diamond in front of a home crowd.
The first inning began with a home run and the Mammoths (12-12 overall, 4-2 NESCAC) were not to be stopped. Jack McDermott sent the pitch to right center field, marking the tip of the iceberg that was coming. Three runs followed McDermott, forcing the Cardinals (9-17 overall, 2-5 NESCAC) to an early pitching change from
Tanner Mahon '27 to
Kevin Brown '28. The Mammoths scored two of the remaining three runs on walks.
Picking up where he left off on Wednesday against Coast Guard,
Connor Sullivan '26 put the Cardinals on the books to break the Mammoths lead at the bottom of the second. Sullivan singled to center field prior to being sent home by
Luke LaSaracina '25 with a double that dropped just inside the right center fence. Walked on his first at bat of the game,
Marcus Jang '25 tailed LaSaracina to home as
Ernie Little '26 cuffed a single. Jang scored on the error by the short stop, Little advanced to third. The Cardinals cut the lead to just three runs, Little scoring on a wild pitch.
Scoring an eighth run in the third, the Mammoths would reach home plate for another four innings, allowing the Cardinals to cut the deficit to two.
Facing the bottom of the fourth,
Jake Acker '27 jump started the Cardinals with a ball down the third base line, reaching second with LaSaracina following with yet another hit to reach first.
James Marsden '26 doubled to place Acker at home for the tally and LaSaracina was next on
Jonah Timmons' '27 ground out.
The Mammoths took another four-run lead in the seventh, scoring two more runs to bring the total to double digits. With skies darkening at Dresser in the eighth, LaSaracina and Marsden were both walked, advancing while
Troy Ashkinos '28 put a pitch in center field. LaSaracina's third run was Little taking the hit by pitch to reach. After several position changes for the Mammoths,
Jack Carpenter's '25 sacrifice fly would give Marsden the final Cardinals run of the night. The ninth inning saw an additional seven runs from the Mammoths, effectively shutting down the game.
LaSaracina led all Cardinals with three runs, two hits, and one RBI while facing the Mammoths pitching rotation four times.
Brown pitched just over five innings, striking out four batters while dropping two runs. Brown walked seven.
Dariusz Lukowski '27 pitched nearly two innings, allowing three runs with one strikeout. Mahon takes the loss, dropping the opening runs of the game.
The Cardinals return to action on Saturday, April 19, when they face Amherst in the series doubleheader at Amherst beginning at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
