Jumbos win three, lose one over weekend

In a busy weekend of NESCAC play, the women's softball team finished off with a sweep of a doubleheader against Williams yesterday, winning 6-1 and 2-1. The wins move Tufts to 19-10 on the season, including a 6-2 mark in the NESCAC.

Before traveling to Williams, the women kicked off their weekend in Maine on Saturday with a double header against Bowdoin. Playing against a NESCAC East rival, the team hoped to return home with a sweep putting them in a good position to host the NESCAC tournament. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, their wish did not translate into a reality as the team finished Saturday with a split, losing game one 2-1, but winning game two 11-5.

Even though the team has yet to secure home field advantage in the post-season tournament, Saturday's game two win was enough for the Jumbos to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.

Despite the victory, the team was not pleased with the results of the day.

"It was very similar to Colby, where we just don't know what really happened," senior co-captain Nikki Blotner said. "They just played better than we did even though we had the skills to beat them and be a better team. The whole thing was shocking."

Though the Jumbos' play was uninspiring as a whole, junior Julie Fox had an incredible individual performance. Fox hit three homeruns and amassed eight RBI on the day.

"Julie was just awesome," Blotner said. "She's always been a really strong hitter but she was just on fire."

The day began with pitching ace, sophomore Caroline Grieco, on the mound. Grieco pitched a strong game, giving up only two runs in seven innings of play. Despite her solid efforts, the offense could not continue the hot hitting of the past weekend to help earn her a victory.

The Polar Bears were the first to put a run on the board, as freshman shortstop Danielle Chagnon homered for the first inning's only hit.

"That surprised us a little bit. We didn't expect them to jump on us," Blotner said.

Tufts responded quickly after Fox tied the game with a home run of her own in the top of the second.

Going down quietly in the bottom of the second inning, Bowdoin threatened again in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with only one out. Fortunately for the Jumbos, Grieco was able to get herself out of the jam unscathed and the score remained tied 1-1.

It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Polar Bears would regain their lead, this time for good, on an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth from sophomore right fielder Rachel Gordon.

On the afternoon, the Jumbos out-hit the Polar Bears 10-8, yet stranded nine teammates on base leaving the team without much needed runs. The tough-luck loss sent Grieco's record to 6-3 on the season and moved the Jumbos to 5-2 in the NESCAC.

"Bowdoin really wanted us, you've got to hand it to them that they went out there hard and took a game from us," Blotner said. "It's the best game I've seen them play in my four years."

Unwilling to let the Polar Bears keep them down, the Jumbos rebounded quickly in game two to record the 11-5 win. Returning to the mound after her master performance in game one, junior Erin Hanley could not keep the Jumbos' offense quiet again as it scored three runs in the top of the first.

An RBI double from senior co-captain Lis Drake paired with Fox's second homerun of the day (this time a two run blast) gave Tufts the early 3-0 lead.

However, the Polar Bears did not die easily. They responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the second, and tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth to tie the Jumbos 3-3.

Soon after Bowdoin had tied it up, the Jumbos took back the lead with a vengeance, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth. Once again, Fox lead the scoring drive with a two run single. Sophomore Katie Smith helped Tufts score its final two runs of the inning with a two run single of her own.

Though Bowdoin tried to respond by scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Tufts quieted any hopes of a comeback by scoring four more runs in the top of the seventh. The offensive onslaught was again led by Fox who hit her third homerun of the day, recording three more RBI with her hit.

The four runs scored in the seventh helped secure the victory for freshmen Sarah Conroy who finished the day with seven innings pitched and five earned runs. Conroy's record now stands at 3-1.

With the split against Bowdoin, the Jumbos currently sit only three wins ahead of Bowdoin who still has more NESCAC games left to play. If the team can continue to play strongly for the rest of the season, they will most likely host the NESCAC tournament. Without anymore NESCAC East games left on their schedule though, the Jumbos hopes now lay in the hands of others.

"As a senior I am counting on hosting," Blotner said. "If Brandies is our last home game, that's not going to be ok."

For now, the team must concentrate on Brandeis who they will play tomorrow. Due to whether issues that caused the rescheduling of multiple games, the game against Brandeis will be the Jumbos' first home contest since Mar. 26.

The game will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Spicer Field.