NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  Coast Guard softball lost by three runs in both games of Tuesday's non-conference doubleheader versus cross-state opponents Wesleyan University (Conn.), with the team from Middletown winning by scores of 6-3 and 7-4.

Wesleyan improves to 25-11 with the two wins, setting a new single-season program record for wins in the process. The Cardinals close out their regular season on Saturday, May 3rd, hosting Middlebury College (22-12) for a NESCAC doubleheader. Wesleyan will be celebrating Senior Day on the date.

Junior infielder Bridget Bartz (Arlington, Va.) had herself a day by going 3-for-7 with two home runs, a walk, three runs batted in, and three runs between both games. Also going yard on the day was freshman Hayden Reilly (Prosper, Tex.), who hit her first collegiate homer in game two.

The very first hit of the day was a home run as well, coming off the bat of Wesleyan lead-off hitter Molly Lennon to give the Cardinal's a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Cardinals added one more later in the inning on an RBI ground out.

Coast Guard got on the board in the second inning after Veronica Krystofik's (Colchester, Conn.) ground ball to second base was mishandled, allowing Lauren Ragonese (Liverpool, N.Y.) to cross the plate. The score stayed at 2-1 until Wesleyan tacked on three in the top of the fifth, scoring all of them on RBI singles.

The Cardinals added another in the top of the seventh, when Isabella Secaria-Cotto launched the second home run of the game over the right-center field fence. The bottom half saw Bartz wallop the first home run of her collegiate career, crushing it to dead center to bring herself and Reilly across the plate.

Going into the game, junior starting pitcher Dana Walker (Macon, Ga.) had not allowed a home run this season. The junior struck out three Cardinals, putting her career total at 293.

Game two opened with a three-run first inning for Wesleyan, with two scoring on an RBI single and the third on an error. Reilly made it a 3-2 game by crushing her first career home run in the bottom of the third, driving in Bartz with the long ball.

The Cardinals made it 4-2 in the top of the fifth thanks to a well-placed bunt single, but sophomore Abriana Schmutz (Marysville, Ohio) got it back to a one-run game by beating out an infield single to allow freshman Madeline Kibler (Effingham, Ill.) to score from third base.

Much like the first game, another three-run inning allowed the Cardinals to make space, with all three crossing on fielder's choice plays in the seventh. Bartz pulled a no-doubter over the left field fence in the bottom half for her second four-bagger of the day, making it 7-4.

Kibler went 3-for-6 on the day, tallying two of her hits in game one. Sophomore Mack Murnane (Wilmington, N.C.) entered as a fielding replacement in the fourth inning and smacked a double in the fifth. 

Between games, Coast Guard honored the senior members of their program for their commitment and contributions over the past four years. Team captains Krystofik and Natalie Beck (Billings, Mont.) represented the playing portion of the class; Krystofik was 3-for-5 on the day, with two hits coming in the first contest, while Beck went 1-for-3 in game two. Also honored was student-manager Grace Beardsley.

Bears softball gets a day off before traveling to Northampton, Massachusetts, on May 1st for a NEWMAC doubleheader at Smith College. The Pioneers are 3-13 in conference play this season and 7-25 overall, but Coast Guard dropped both games of last season's meeting in New London.