Hartford, Conn. - Freshman RHP Rachel Kantor (North Kingstown, R.I.) allowed just a single unearned run in eight innings of work to earn a save in the first game and win the second, as the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals swept the Trinity College Bantams, 7/6-4/0, in a softball doubleheader this afternoon.  Trinity falls to 9-8 and Wesleyan improves to 8-10 while snapping a four-game losing skid. Sophomore SS Courtney Erickson (Everett, Mass.) doubled and homered in the opener and rookie Natalie Bruno (Stratham, N.H.) doubled twice in the nightcap for the Bantams.

Wesleyan jumped on the board early, scoring once in the top of the first in game one on a Trinity error, a stolen base, and a double by sophomore starting pitcher Julie McDonald (Commack, N.Y.) and twice in the second inning on a leadoff triple by junior Jamie Hom (Santa Monica, Calif.), a walk, a sacrifice fly by Kantor, and a two-out RBI single by junior Izzy Linzer (Arlington, Va.). Trinity threatened in the bottom of the first inning when junior CF Meaghan Race (Grand Rapids, Mich.) reached on an error and classmate Michelle Treglia (Fairfield, Conn.) singled her to third and then stole second to put two runners in scoring position with none out, but McDonald struck out the next two Bantams and got the third out on a ground ball.

Both teams scored in the third frame, as Wesleyan junior C Rielly Wieners (West Springfield, Mass.) belted a two-run homer to left field in the top of the inning only to be answered with Erickson's three-run blast over the centerfield wall to make the score, 5-3.  Race had walked and Treglia doubled before both scored on Erickson's fourth home run of the spring.  Kantor and Trinity senior righty reliever Cassia Armstrong (White Rock, British Columbia) both tossed three scoreless innings in a row, before Wesleyan tacked on two insurance runs on doubles by McDonald, Wieners, and Hom.  Two Cardinal errors and a pinch-hit, RBI single by Trinity sophomore Nicole Towner (Erie, Colo.) brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Kantor retired the final out on a fly ball.

Kantor and Trinity rookie Lindsay Golia (North Branford, Conn.) each kept the opposing offense off the board through three innings in the second game, but the Cardinals broke through with one run in the fourth on an RBI single by Wieners and a Kantor triple followed by a sacrifice fly by Linzer in the fifth. Wesleyan scored four times in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run triple by sophomore Kendall Carr (York, Maine).  Trinity had a baserunner in every inning but the second, but could not push a run across.

McDonald Kantor combined on a six-hitter in the first game and a five-hit shutout in game two, striking out seven and walking three between them over 14 frames.  McDonald lasted four innings in the opener to earn the win and pitched the last two innings of the nightcap, and Kantor tossed the eight innings in the middle.  Trinity junior captain Rachael Smith (Winchester, Mass.) took the loss in the first game, allowing three runs but just one earned in two innings, and Golia yielded nine hits and five earned runs with three K's in five innings but fell to 5-3 with the second-game loss.

Erickson and Treglia were both 2-for-4 offensively for Trinity in game one, while McDonald was 3-for-4 with two runs for Wesleyan.  In the second game, Cardinal freshman Hayley Lipson (East Brunswick, N.J.) went 3-for-3 at the plate and Trinity rookie OF Nikki Anderson (Dunbarton, N.H.) had a hit and a walk in her two plate appearances.  Trinity finished the twinbill with five errors.