Baseball looking to jumpstart season

Coming off a 5-4 spring break road trip to open the 2003 season, the Tufts baseball team opens its NESCAC assault this weekend at home. The Jumbos play host to Bates with a three game series beginning Friday afternoon at Huskins Field. The series concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader.

So far this season the Jumbos have been far from consistent, according to coach John Casey and senior tri-captain Brian Shapiro.

"We've been pretty consistent pitching wise," Casey said. "But the offense needs to be more consistent, and the outfield needs to step up [defensively]."

The offense has been patchy in the first nine games. In the team's five wins the Jumbos have out-hit their opponents 65-39, batting .359 and scoring 48 runs, including a 28-5 blowout against Randolph-Macon in Virginia on March 16. Opponents have hit .265 while crossing the plate 18 times in these contests. However in four Jumbo losses, the team is hitting below the Mendoza Line (.196) with 11 runs and 22 hits, compared to a hefty .523 average with 30 runs and 56 hits from the rival dugout.

For the season, the team has outscored its adversaries 59-48, but has been out-hit 95-87, batting .297 compared to an opposition mark of .374.

"We're getting out-hit and making a lot of errors," Shapiro said. "We're already one-third of the way through the season so we really have to start getting it together."

Some Jumbos have put together strong starts at the plate. Junior catcher Greg Hickey, who has seen all but one game of action at DH, has provided offensive spark, batting .600 with a homerun while driving in nine and scoring ten times. Senior tri-captain Evan Zupancic is hitting .312 and has slugged two homers.

Defensively the team has been sound, making only ten errors compared to an astounding 21 by opponents. This has led to 20 unearned runs given up by opposing pitching, while the Jumbos have given up just five unearned runs. The infield has been solid as well, particularly on the right side, and after making four errors in the season opener against Lynchburg in a 10-6 win, the Jumbos have settled considerably in the field.

From a pitching perspective though, Shapiro said the team still has much room for improvement. The staff ERA is 5.95, nearly a run higher than the opposition's 5.09. However the team's starting trio of senior tri-captain Dave Martin (2-0, 1.93 ERA), junior Randy Newsom (2-0, 3.21 ERA), and senior John Lee (1-2, 5.06 ERA) have provided a strong presence on the mound.

Martin pitched a complete game two-hitter in a 1-0 win over Apprentice School in the first game of a doubleheader on Mar. 22, while Shapiro notched his team record-breaking 12th career save in game two's 4-3 win in relief of Newsom.

The Bates series opens the team's league competition. Bates (13-17-1 last season), who won its highest number of games last spring since winning 14 in 1992, has posed little trouble for the Jumbos in recent years. Since 1997 the Jumbos are 13-0 against the Bobcats, including winning two last season 7-2 and 6-5, overcoming a feisty Bobcat team in ten innings in the second game.

"We were lucky to get by them last season," Casey said. "They're a tough team and we went to extra innings one game. I think Martin will go Friday and then we'll see what happens."

Bates (0-2) has started slowly this season, including a 22-3 drubbing by Northwood in Florida last week. However the Bobcats have some young talent, with 19 freshmen and sophomores on their 32-man roster. Sophomore Mike Kinsman was second in the NESCAC with a 1.79 ERA as a freshman last season, despite a 1-4 record.

The offense was led by current junior outfielder Rob Maguire (.360, 5HR, 20 RBI), sophomore second baseman Adam Taranto, and junior shortstop Nate Maxwell, who knocked in 21 and 23 respectively.

Facing a team that on paper looks young and relatively inexperienced, the Jumbos have an opportunity to jumpstart their season and try to get the entire team machine working together.

"The main objective is definitely to get off to a good start in the league," Shapiro said. "We're not really happy with how we played so far. But it's definitely nice to be back home on the field and now get the show on the road."