MEDFORD, Mass. – Trailing 1-0 and without a hit through three innings, the three-seed Wesleyan softball team turned the game around with a three-run 4^th inning which proved enough in a 4-2 win over six-seed Bates in the NESCAC Quarterfinal on Saturday night from Spicer Field on the campus of Tufts University.
 
This marks the first postseason win for the Cardinals (28-11) since winning the 2010 NESCAC Championship game as Wesleyan advances to the Semifinal round at Noon on Sunday where they will meet seven-seed Bowdoin for a trip to the NESCAC title game which is scheduled for 2:30 PM on Sunday.
 
Bates jumped out to an early lead in their first at-bats, taking advantage of an error in the field to plate a run in the 1^st inning. Abby Orso G'25 settled into the game and worked perfect 1-2-3 innings in the 2^nd and 3^rd before holding Bates scoreless again in the 4^th despite a runner reaching second base with one out in the frame.
 
The script flipped in the bottom of the 4^th when Molly Lennon '26 smacked a leadoff homer out to left field to tie the game on her sixth home run of the season. Rebecca Cassel-Siskind '26 followed with a double to left center and after consecutive foul outs, Orso drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out RBI double to deep center field. Waverly Smart '27 then stepped to the box and smacked a run-scoring single to center field that spotted the Cardinals a 3-1 lead after four.
 
Wesleyan increased their lead in the 5^th when Sam Chappell '28 led off with a single to left center and advanced to second on a fielding error. A groundout to short moved Chappell over to third who scored on a would-be sacrifice fly out that was mishandled by the Bates right fielder.
 
The Bobcats made their move in the 6^th inning when Ella Maher led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Orso, however, did well to induce a line out and fielder's choice out to second followed by an inning-ending groundout to Lennon at second that limited Bates to just one run in the frame.
 
Needing just three outs leading 4-2 in the top of the 7^th, Smart made the defensive play of the game when Sophie Garber hit a liner up the middle that saw Smart make a diving stop on the ball to her left. She then quickly got to her feet and tossed a dart to Cat Palmer '26 at first base, beating Garber to the bag for the first out of the inning.
 
Feeding off the Smart gem, Orso got a groundout to third and a game-ending strikeout to send the Cardinals into the Semifinals.
 
Orso was stellar in the circle, throwing a complete game three-hitter with just one earned run allowed and two walks with six strikeouts. This is her second career postseason win while she also drove in the go-ahead run with her RBI double in the 4^th.
 
Three of the five Wesleyan hits went for extra bases including the Lennon homer that first tied the score. Lennon finished with 2 RBI while Cassel-Siskind hit her 10^th double of the season and also walked as she reached base in two of her three plate appearances.
 
Wesleyan shifts focus to the Semifinal against Bowdoin at Noon on Sunday. The Cardinals swept the Polar Bears 4-3 and 2-0 at home back on March 22.