Ties are meant to be broken, but a five-run collapse that allows the opposition back into the game hurts. And no matter how well you play catch-up after that, five runs make a difference.
The Jumbos (12-11) did just that Tuesday, clashing with the UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs (15-11) in North Dartmouth in a seesawing non-conference battle that ultimately saw UMD pull off a 9-8 win.
Tufts took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and had a chance to increase its lead in the third, stringing together three hits to load the bases, but UMD starter Alfred Jean (6IP, 3R) got freshman center fielder Chris Decembrele to fly out to right to strand Tufts.
Jumbo junior starter Jeff Volinski (1-0, 2.40 ERA), meanwhile, held UMD scoreless through three innings before hitting trouble in the fourth. A double, groundout and single tied the game, but Tufts reclaimed the lead in the fifth, when a leadoff walk and steal by senior co-captain Adam Kacamburas set up a Decembrele RBI single.
UMD added two more in the fifth, aided by a Kacamburas error -- one of four by Tufts -- but Tufts tied it in the sixth to take Volinski off the hook. The southpaw put in his second straight strong start, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on five hits over five innings before being pulled to save him for this weekend.
"Jeff kept us in the game," senior pitcher Dave Frew said. "It was 3-3 game when he came out, and three runs in five innings is pretty solid."
But things fell apart for Tufts in the home half of the sixth, as UMD scored five runs off Frew (0IP, 2H, 3R) and freshman Aaron Narva (1IP, 2H, 2R).
"A couple pitchers struggled, particularly me, by not hitting their spots and walking guys," Frew said. "It's just a matter of execution."
When the dust settled, UMD led, 8-3. Tufts kept chipping away, scoring five runs in the final three frames and pulling within one in the eighth, 8-7. Sophomore Greg Chertok (3-4, 3 RBI), who has raised his average from .258 to .323 over the last 13 games, singled in two runs.
"Greg did a very good job of hitting ball," Frew said. "He came up in a couple big spots and hit the ball the other way. He's really stepped up offensively."
But UMD added a valuable insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to take a 9-7 lead, as Tufts added a run in the ninth on a bases-loaded sac fly by freshman Bryan McDavitt. But classmates Kyle Backstrom and Decembrele both struck out looking against UMD's Kyle Darrow to end the game with two men on, two of 15 runners Tufts stranded in the game.
"We should have won," coach John Casey said. "We just didn't make plays when had to make them."
Luckily for Tufts, the game does not count to NESCAC standings. The Jumbos have just six NESCAC games remaining this season, holding a slim qualifying shot for next month's NESCAC Tournament. The top two teams in each division -- the East, in which Tufts currently sits fourth at 2-4, and the West -- can qualify.
With Trinity (23-4 overall, 10-2 NESCAC) firmly entrenched atop the East, Tufts' best qualifying shot comes through second-placed Bowdoin (17-10, 6-3 NESCAC) and third-placed Bates (10-11, 3-3 NESCAC), who clash in a three-game series this weekend. Tufts faces Bates next weekend, and needs a Bates-Bowdoin split to contend.
Tufts will aim to sweep the bottom-feeding Colby White Mules (3-21, 0-9 NESCAC), who seek their first conference win, in a three-game home series beginning today.
Tufts has won eight of the last nine contests against Colby over the past three seasons, outscoring the Mules 81-33 during that stretch.
But both teams face similar situations this season, with youth-laden rosters. Ten players on Colby's 22-man roster are freshmen and seven are sophomores, and while Tufts is more balanced between classes, seven freshmen and seven sophomores hold varsity slots.
But despite both teams' comparative youth, Casey tries to avoid comparisons.
"I don't compare [the two teams]," Casey explained. "We just worry about ourselves, that's what we've been doing all year. We need to play with more consistency."
Colby has shown some offensive productiveness, batting .282 as a team, with four players -- senior co-captains Vincent Domestico (.333) and Eric Roy (.329), sophomore Rodney Ames (.359) and freshman Tom Salemy (.341, 4 HR, 19 RBI) -- batting over .300.
But pitching is the Colby Achilles' Heal, as opponents are hitting Colby pitching at a .341 clip, outscoring the White Mules 199 runs to 106.
The Jumbo offense will look to capitalize on that. With the exception of one reliever who has pitched just two innings, no White Mule has a sub-5.68 ERA. Tufts, by contrast, while far from consistent on the hill this season, has been more reliable.
Senior co-captain Randy Newsom (4-1, 4.29 ERA), who owns a career 2-0 record and 1.42 ERA in three appearances against Colby, will look to lead the staff to a sweep, with Volinski, freshman Ben Simon (3-1, 1.67), sophomore Zak Smotherman (1-3, 3.24) and junior Jeremy Davis (2-1, 6.08) all possibilities to see starting action.
But prior records are just that; prior records. The team is focused on the present, and, despite Colby's underwhelming 2004 record, Tufts will not take the Mules lightly, particularly with a postseason appearance on the line.
"We should learn to take care of ourselves, which I don't think we've been doing so far," Casey said. "It doesn't matter who you play, just how you perform. That's what we've been trying to teach them."
Frew echoed Casey's sentiments, saying the team needs to look past Colby's record at the bigger picture.
"We need to do the things we've been taught to do," Frew said. "We know what to do, how to win games, we just need to go out and do it. We can't let their record affect us."
