Softball tops Wesleyan 5-3

The Hamilton College softball team wrapped up its NESCAC West Division series at Wesleyan University with a 5-3 win on Sunday morning in Middletown, Conn. The Continentals rallied from a 3-0 second-inning hole.

Box score

The Continentals (8-9, 3-2 NESCAC West) scored all five of their runs in the third inning to snap a two-game losing streak. Kelly Leonard ’15 drove in Hamilton’s first two runs and earned the win with 5.2 innings of shutout relief.

Leonard’s two-run single pulled the Continentals to within a run and three batters later Phoebe Collins ’18 put Hamilton ahead for good with a three-run home run.

Julia Carpenter ’18 walked to lead off the third and Hannah Staab ’17 followed with a double before Leonard singled to center to plate both runners. Olivia Gozdz ’16 singled to put the go-ahead run on base and one out later Collins hit her second home run of the season.

Leonard took over in the circle with two runners on and one out in the second after the Cardinals had scored once to push their lead to 3-0. She thwarted the rally with a strikeout and ground ball and blanked Wesleyan the rest of the way. She didn’t walk a batter or allow a runner past second base in improving to 7-3 on the year. Her 29 career wins rank third on the program’s all-time list. Leonard lowered her ERA this season to 1.96.

The Cardinals (9-10, 2-3) scored twice in the top of the first on just one hit (Hamilton batted as the home team because the series was originally scheduled to be played in Clinton). Isabel Linzer ’17 led off with a single and after two wild pitches moved her to third, Mollie Grunat ’16 drew a walk and stole second. Linzer scored on Hamilton’s third wild pitch of the inning and Grunat came home on a run-scoring groundout.

Linzer doubled in Jamie Hom ’17, who had led off the second with an infield single, to give Wesleyan a 3-0 lead. Linzer had three of Wesleyan’s seven hits.

The Continentals are scheduled to play a 3:30 p.m. non-conference doubleheader at Utica College on Tuesday, April 7. Wesleyan plays a pair of games at Western New England University on Tuesday.