Sophomore Jon Lee and junior Steve Lapham showed why they are the baseball team's top two arms as the Jumbos completed a sweep of the Bates College Bobcats in Sunday's home opening doubleheader. Helping their team win its first NESCAC games of the season, Lee and Lapham both pitched complete games, and surrendered just three combined earned runs.
Lee won the opener, surrendering only five hits, two earned runs, and striking out 13 in Tufts' 4-3 victory. Lapham pitched the nightcap (nine innings, as opposed to the seven-inning opener), allowing one earned run, striking out six, and giving up no free passes in a 6-2 win. The Jumbos improved to 4-5-1 with the wins.
"The key to our wins was the pitching," coach John Casey said. "Both guys pitched very well. It was a tough day to play. It was only 33 degrees out there. We were fortunate to get such good efforts."
Lee, who improved his mark to 2-0 on the season, already had two solid starts under his belt before yesterday's performance. After pitching a scoreless first, he received an offensive boost when left fielder and co-captain Todd Boutwell smacked a two-run homerun. Bates tied the game on a solo homerun in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth, but Tufts put the game away with RBI singles by second baseman Jon Herbert and right fielder Dan Callahan in the bottom of the fifth.
Lapham, the team's preseason ace, had struggled until yesterday. In an important start, he came ready to pitch and was able to earn his first victory of the season after having already dropped two. Again the long ball was the key, as sophomore center fielder Evan Zupancic began the scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Bates took a narrow 2-1 lead, with single runs in the third and the fifth, but Tufts sealed the victory with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Callahan's three-run homer. Also aiding the cause were the top four hitters in the Jumbos' order, who were a combined 9-18 with five runs scored and five batted in. Lapham held the Bobcats scoreless after the fifth, while Tufts tacked on another run in the sixth.
"When Steve's on, he's tough," Casey said. "He was 0-2 coming in, but he was throwing the ball really well, really commanding the low part of the zone. He gave up all ground balls, and when he's right, that's how he gets his outs."
Casey's main concern continues to be the inconsistent offense, which performed well at times Sunday, but faltered in some key situations.
"We are a sporadic offensive club," he said. "We're not really getting big hits so far. We had a couple opportunities on Sunday to really break things open. Baseball is a game you're supposed to play every day, and it's hard to keep hot bats when you're only playing once a week in bad weather." Continuing to impress was freshman Nick Palange, who started both games at third base. Palange, who won the starting job on the team's southern trip over Spring Break, has recorded two hits and 6 putouts over the course of the two games.
"It's not rocket science, as long as he continues to perform, he'll be out there, and that goes for everyone," Casey said. "He's a mature kid and he's done a good job for us."
Another huge key to Tufts' season is sophomore Brian Shapiro. The NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2000, Shapiro is trying to make the difficult transition from third base to shortstop.
"Brian is learning and struggling a bit," Casey said. "It's a tough adjustment, but he'll get there."
The Jumbos stampede into action again this afternoon when they host Mass. Maritime, a team that defeated Tufts last season.
"This is a big early season game for us," Casey said. "They do a lot of things well. They run very well, and they play good baseball."
Sophomore Dave Martin (0-0), the team's third starter, will take the mound for Tufts.
"Dave's a key," Casey said. "Having an effective third starter is so important. Dave had a good start and a not so good start down South, so it's a big game for him."
