The men's baseball team escaped the snow and ice of New England, but was unable to escape inclement weather entirely, running into periodic blizzards of offense, followed by inexplicable droughts of runs, and a rainstorm that washed out a doubleheader on the Jumbos' Spring Break trip to Virginia and North Carolina. The team managed a disappointing 2-5-1 record on the trip, losing two of its games in lopsided fashion (18-1 to Virginia Wesleyan, and 11-3 to Wesley College).
"Any time you have more losses than wins it's going to be a little disturbing," sophomore Evan Zupancic said. "But it was a trip to work out kinks. We'll be fine once we start playing league games up north."
The loss to Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday ended the trip on a down note. The starting pitcher, junior Dan Callahan, was ripped for 12 runs in only one and two-thirds innings of work as the Marlins hit .389 as a team. Junior Tim Ayers drove in the only Tufts run, and only two Jumbos had multiple hits in the game.
"There is not much of an excuse for how we played toward the later part of the trip," Zupancic said.
The previous day, the Jumbos were in Newport News, VA, for a doubleheader against the Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School. The Jumbos won the opener handily, defeating the Builders 20-10, but dropped the low scoring second game 4-2.
"We weren't playing well as a team and it kind of shows in every aspect of the game, mainly defensively," Zupancic said of the trip in general. "That's where it really comes out in the open."
Two close losses came on Monday and Thursday as the Jumbos fell to Greensboro College 5-4 in 11 innings and 10-7 to North Carolina Wesleyan. In between the two losses, the games against St. Andrews were rained out, and the team's match against Methodist (played the day after the North Carolina Wesleyan game) was called on account of darkness in the 11th inning with the score tied at five.
The game against Greensboro was tied at four in the bottom of the 11th inning with Greensboro senior Mark Bauer on second base with two outs. Bauer stole third, and scored soon after on a wild pitch uncorked by Tufts freshman Randy Newsom. The wild pitch tainted an otherwise impressive relief performance from Newsom, who gave up only two hits in two and two-thirds innings of work. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, the Greensboro pitching staff held Tufts batters to only three hits and one earned run.
The Jumbos certainly did not have the same problems at the plate against Randolph-Macon College the day before. Tufts jumped on the Randoph-Macon starting pitcher Brandon King for eight runs in the first inning, and chased his successor, Joseph Wade, just two innings later with six more. Shapiro went 3-6 with two runs batted in, and senior catcher Joe Suprenant drove in four runs of his own as Tufts rolled to a 12-5 victory. Sophomore starter Jon Lee pitched six innings, giving up only two earned runs on ten hits.
Northern teams often find it difficult to succeed against their opponents in the south. The teams
Tufts played against have been playing since early March, if not February, while the Jumbos have been practicing in Cousen's Gym. However, last year's edition of Jumbo baseball managed to compile an 8-2 record on its Spring Break trip, one that featured many of the same nemeses as this year. Last season, Tufts swept a doubleheader against Randolph-Macon, defeated North Carolina-Wesleyan 8-2, beat Greensboro 8-3, and split doubleheaders with both Virginia-Wesleyan and Apprentice.
"Last year, before the spring trip, we got about a week outside which really helped us out," Zupancic said. "I'm not really sure if that played too much of a role in our performance, but it had a little effect."
The Jumbos open their NESCAC schedule at home with three games against NESCAC East rival Bates. The two teams will play a single game on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. NESCAC games are particularly important this season as the NESCAC champion (and only the NESCAC champion) receives a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Whether the Jumbos will get to play the Bobcats will depend on the condition of Huskins Field following Monday's snowstorm. As far as the season goes, the Jumbos will be hoping that fairer skies are in the forecast.
