MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan softball team was dealt a pair of defeats in the Cardinals' 2026 home opener as No. 11 Tufts earned a 3-2 win in game one before closing out with a 11-6 win in game two. The Cardinals drop to 7-8 (1-3 NESCAC) on the season while the Jumbos are 13-3 (2-0 NESCAC).
 
Game one saw Tufts jump out to a 3-0 lead in their first at-bats as Heaven Olivia sent a solo shot out to left field before Lauryn Horita sent an RBI double out to left and a third run came in on a fielding error.
 
Jacelyn Lees '28, who entered in the bottom of the 1^st, worked a 1-2-3 inning in the 2^nd then the Cardinals pushed a run across as Whitney Gigante '28 singled through the right side to score Jordynn Killion '27 from third.
 
Molly Lennon '26 led off the bottom of the 3^rd with a deep home run over the left field fence that made it 3-2. Lees continued to shut the potent Tufts offense down while the Cardinals had a runner on second in the 4^th but couldn't push a run across.
 
Lees continued to shine on the circle, retiring the side in-order in the 5^th then inducing an inning-ending double play in the 6^th. The Wesleyan offense, however, couldn't get anything going against Jumbo reliever Francesca Colangelo who retired the final eight batters in-order to seal a 3-2 Tufts win.
 
Lennon went 3-for-3 with one double and one home run, pushing her season total up to four homers on the year. Lees went 6.2 innings of shutout work in relief, striking out four with no walks and five hits allowed.
 
The Tufts offense came alive in game two with the Jumbos totaling 11 runs and 17 hits. The Jumbos batted around in a five-run 3^rd inning with the visitors totaling six hits in the frame. Wesleyan responded in the bottom half with a four-run inning to counter the Jumbos. The bases were loaded for Cat Palmer '26 who sent an RBI fielder's choice to short, then a wild pitch scored another before Lees came up with a two-run single out to right to make it a one-run game.
 
The Jumbos got one run back in the 4^th and another in the 5^th before blowing the game open with a four-run 6^th inning. A two-out two-run single to left from Cat Kawabe made it 9-4 then Fallon O'Connor doubled to right center to score another and Ella Malin doubled down the right field line to make it 11-4.
 
Wesleyan scored one run in the 6^th on a Sam Chappell' 28 sacrifice fly out to center then scored another in the 7^th on an RBI fielder's choice out from Killion, but couldn't extend the game as Tufts finished off an 11-6 win.
 
Lees went 2-for-4 in game two with two RBI while Palmer finished 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
 
The Cardinals return to action on Sunday for another home NESCAC doubleheader against Hamilton with first pitch at Noon.