Hamilton College's Natalie Beebe '24 helped lead the Continentals to a NESCAC West Division doubleheader sweep of the Wesleyan University Cardinals at Hamilton's Loop Road Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (2-3, 2-3 NESCAC) scored in every inning en route to a 13-5 win in the opener. Hamilton exploded for six runs in the fourth inning of the second game and cruised to a 10-1 victory. Both contests were stopped in the fifth inning due to the eight-run mercy rule.

Beebe recorded two hits in each game and allowed one run on five hits and a walk in the nightcap. She struck out seven Cardinals and earned her first collegiate win.

The third game of the weekend series, scheduled to be held at Wesleyan on Sunday, has already been postponed because of the likelihood of rain in Connecticut. The Continentals will play another NESCAC West Division doubleheader at Amherst College on Saturday, April 17. The first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Game 1

Anna Rasmussen '21 paced the Hamilton offense with three singles and three runs batted in. Samantha Smith '23 singled twice and doubled and drove in two runs. Beebe singled, doubled and plated a pair of runs, and Katlynn McGivney '23 singled, tripled and scored three times. Kaitlyn Fudge '23 picked up her first collegiate victory with three innings of scoreless relief. Fudge allowed just one hit and fanned two.

The Cardinals (0-5, 0-5) took a 5-2 lead in the top of the second inning with five runs. The Continentals immediately responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning and took the lead for good. Rasmussen's two-run single between third and short made it 5-4 and Smith tied the score with a base hit to center. Emma Tomlins '23 forced in another run after she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Hamilton scored an unearned run in the third inning and added two more in the fourth for a 9-5 advantage. Smith led off the fourth with a double to left and eventually scored on an error. Beebe's sacrifice fly drove in the other run.

The Continentals ended it with a four-run fifth. Smith drove in the first run with a single through the right side and Beebe plated another on a single to left with the bases loaded. Vicky Dunn '22 then launched a double to deep right-center field that scored two runs and finished Game 1.

Game 2

McGivney singled, doubled and drove in two runs. Beebe and Smith chipped in two hits apiece and Madison Rainone '24 registered two sacrifice flies. Beebe owns a .727 batting average (8-for-11) and Smith has nine hits in 18 at-bats. Rainone and Rasmussen lead the team with eight runs batted in.

Wesleyan's first batter launched a line drive down the right field line that eventually led to an inside-the-park home run. The Cardinals didn't score again.

Hamilton came back with three runs in the bottom of the first. Rasmussen's double to left field plated Beebe with the go-ahead run. The Continentals pushed their lead to 4-1 with a run on one hit and two errors in the third.

Hamilton clinched the win with six runs on four hits, a walk and three errors. A two-run double to left center by McGivney made it 6-1 and was the big blow in the inning.