LEWISTON, Maine -- Wesleyan University swept a softball doubleheader at Bates College on Saturday, taking the first game 11-2 and the second 3-2. The Cardinals, who are in the NESCAC West Division, improve to 17-11 overall while the Bobcats, who are in the NESCAC East, move to 5-11.
Wesleyan took a 5-2 lead heading into the fifth inning of Game 1, then exploded for six runs in the fifth and held Bates scoreless in the bottom of the inning to end the game via the eight-run mercy rule. First-year pitcher Meaghan Dendy (Swansea, Mass.) struck out eight batters and allowed two runs on three hits over five innings to raise her record to 7-3. Meanwhile, Wesleyan pounded out 15 hits in the game, led by junior Dendy's and Joanna Brownson's (Hamilton, Mich.) three hits apiece.
Bates scored both of its runs in the game in the fourth, when senior Caitlin Murphy (Westwood, Mass.) hit a leadoff double and came home on first-year Liz Stahler's (Lyndonville, Vt.) double. Stahler later scored on first-year Jill Cappucci's (Saugus, Mass.) base hit.
In Game 2, Wesleyan junior Karla Hargrave (Brookfield, Conn.) outdueled Bates sophomore Christina Knobel (Walpole, Mass.), allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits and three walks while striking out five to move to 3-5 on the season. Knobel (1-4) went the distance in her second-best outing of the season, allowing three runs, one earned, on nine hits while striking out three.
All the scoring in the game occurred in the third inning. The Cardinals scored three on RBI hits by junior Marcia Whitehead (Cambridge, Mass.) and senior Dayna Yorks (Needham Heights, Mass.), in addition to junior Becca Feiden's (Takoma Park, Md.) run scored on a passed ball.
Bates countered with two runs in the bottom of the third, as Stahler led off with a single, stole second and was joined on the bases by sophomore Leah Citrin (Rye Brook, N.Y.), who reached on an error. Senior Katie Franklin (New Preston, Conn.) drove both of them home with a two-run double.
Bates plays a doubleheader at Amherst, another NESCAC non-divisional opponent, on Monday starting at 4 p.m.
Game 1 Box: Wesleyan 11, Bates 2 (Game 1)
Game 2 Box: Wesleyan 3, Bates 2 (Game 2)
