Jumbos sweep Springfield in weekday double-header

Facing off against Springfield College in an afternoon double-header, the Jumbos finished the day with a 1-0 and 7-1 victory, sweeping the fourth ranked team in New England. This victory is another step towards proving that they deserve to be the favorites of the NESCAC East.

"They're one of the top teams so it was really important to have these victories," coach Chris Herman said. "It serves notice to other teams that even though we graduated a lot of players, we're still for real."

The day began for the Jumbos in a pitchers duel with sophomore Caroline Greco matched up against Springfield's top starter. Scoreless through the first seven innings, the Jumbos needed extra innings to secure their victory.

"We just weren't swinging like we needed to," Herman said.

Despite this offensive lapse, the team remained confident that a win was in its hands as Greico rolled through the innings keeping her team in the game. After being sidelined earlier this season with a strained tendon in her right hand, Grieco's performance was especially impressive.

"It felt good to get out there and pitch a whole game. I was thinking if I could get out of the first half of the eighth inning, we would score in the bottom of the eighth," Grieco said.

"Caroline was great today," senior co-captain Nikki Blotner said. "She came out strong and she really just turned it on. We felt really confident behind her."

Without panicking, the Jumbos slowly set themselves up for victory in the bottom of the eighth inning. With freshman Laura Spring on second, Blotner pulled through with the game winning hit, sending Spring home to score the only run of the game.

After struggling through games in California, Herman kept Blotner at the top of the order and yesterday her confidence in the right fielder paid off.

"We had this do or die situation and I was not going to let that pitcher beat me," Blotner said.

With her single, the Jumbos finished game one 1-0 and prepared for game two as the sun began to set. After recording a victory in the first game, the team was certain that a victory in the second game was on its way.

"We always win at home," Blotner said. "There is no option to lose. Nobody stands a chance against us at home."

Once again, the Jumbos pitching remained strong as junior Pam Swidler finished the day with only one run scored. Game two featured much less of a last minute thrill as the Jumbos hitting came out strong scoring five runs in the first inning, four of which came on a grand slam from sophomore Katie Smith.

"It was great," Smith said. "It gave me a warm tingly feeling all over."

After Smith's grand slam, the game was basically in the Jumbos hands from there on out.

"It was nice to score early," Herman said. "Things were really going after that."

During the top of the fourth, Springfield squandered their only opportunity to get back in the game as they recorded three consecutive outs after loading the bases. With the score at 5-1, the Jumbos would be the only team to add to score after that inning.

Along with strong pitching and clutch hitting, the Jumbos also pulled together a strong defensive front during the game. After being plagued by defensive lapses in California, Herman and teammates alike were pleased with the team's strong effort in both the infield and outfield.

"The defense was really awesome," Grieco said.

The Jumbos now look forward to a double header against Trinity on Saturday. As a much stronger team than the Bantams, and after their strong performance against Springfield, the Jumbos are confident that their win streak should continue.

"It was a great way to start off at home, we definitely played our best," Grieco said.