Usually by this time of year, people are talking about how their teams and seasons have progressed. However many may be wondering whether the Tufts baseball season has actually begun, thanks to three consecutive home games postponed by snow, and a fourth played a day late for the same reason.
Riding the wave of a six-game winning streak since returning home from spring break, the Jumbos (11-4) are once again facing a change in their schedule. Instead of playing its three game series against the Bowdoin Polar Bears at home this weekend, Tufts must hit the road to play its three games at Bowdoin, due to a soggy Huskins Field.
"We can't let the weather get to us," sophomore infielder Frank Dinucci said. "It affects us just as much as it affects them."
The Polar Bears (8-9) are this weekend's "them," playing host to Tufts for a three-game series beginning today. Bowdoin enters the clash looking to move above .500 on the heels of a 12-10 loss to Southern Maine. The Polar Bears had won three straight for the first time this season prior to Wednesday's loss.
Freshman Marc Bulger has been one of the few bright spots for Bowdoin's pitching staff, winning all three of his starts while posting a 3.00 ERA and walking just three in 18 innings pitched.
Offensively, junior catcher John Clifford (.382, 19 RBI), sophomore infielder/pitcher Tom McMahon (.375, 2HR, 24 RBI) and freshman outfielder/pitcher sensation Jared Lemieux (.381, 13 RBI), who leads the team with 22 runs scored, 24 hits and three homers, carry the Polar Bears.
The Jumbos had Bowdoin's number last season, sweeping all three games the teams played. Tufts batted .383 (46 for 120) to Bowdoin's .222 (22-99), and outscored the Polar Bears 35-8. Senior tri-captain and center fielder Evan Zupancic (.484 career versus Bowdoin) homered in each game, and had six RBI.
However, Dinucci, who also faced Bowdoin as a freshman last season, says it is important not to be hung up on previous accomplishments when approaching a game.
"I take it weekend by weekend," Dinucci said. "It doesn't really matter which team we're playing. [Our offense] was better against Wesleyan than the couple games before that, and hopefully we'll be able to break out this weekend."
Tufts' offense has shown signs of improved consistency. In the two games at Wesleyan last Sunday, timely hitting helped the Jumbos outscore the Cardinals ten runs to six.
In the six-game winning streak, Tufts has outscored opponents 34 to 15 while batting .282. Jumbo pitching has limited rivals to a measly .199 average. The Jumbos have also shown patience at the plate and speed on the bases, walking 17 times and swiping ten bases.
The team has tried to stay sharp and focused with the extra off-field time by practicing indoors all week.
"It's pretty tough to do and we just have to stay ready," coach John Casey said. "We scrimmaged inside on [Tuesday] and also [Wednesday], but it's up to the kids in a certain sense to stay ready."
Pitching has formed the mainstay of the team so far this season, and the scrimmages are crucial to this too, with such a large chunk of mound time disappearing for much of the squad.
Senior tri-captain Dave Martin, who gets the starting nod today, is 4-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Following a slow start, classmate Jon Lee (4-2, 3.30 ERA, 26K's in 30 innings pitched) has been superb, pitching a seven-inning no-hitter against Bates on Mar. 29 and a 3-2 win at Wesleyan. Junior Randy Newsom (3-0, 1.71 ERA) notched three saves and has been a strong starting presence too, limiting opponents to a .154 average, by far the lowest on the team by almost 100 points.
All told, the Jumbo staff has an ERA of 4.22 with three shutouts and eighty-two strikeouts in 113 innings pitched, all while surrendering a stingy 27 walks. Rival pitching has walked 50 Jumbos, with 67 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.34 -- to quote the great Casey Stengel, "Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa."
The team is ranked third in the Apr. 7 New England Division III coach's poll behind Eastern Connecticut and Wheaton. The squad will try to use this to their advantage again this week, and continue their recent spring success.
"It's been tough because we haven't been on the field for several days," Casey said. "But we're just going to play the way we play."
The Jumbos take on Bowdoin at 3 p.m. today in Maine, with a doubleheader tomorrow starting at 12 p.m.
More from The Tufts Daily
