Jumbos ride four game win streak into weekend

Riding a four-game winning streak, Tufts baseball enters its second NESCAC weekend at 3:00 this afternoon at home versus Trinity. Over the last week, the Jumbos have raised their record from 5-5 to10-6, with recent successes including an 8-1 defeat of Mass Maritime Wednesday and a 17-7 landslide victory at Bentley on Tuesday.

The Bentley win was highlighted by the power offense of freshman designated hitter Kyle Backstrom, who had four hits, including three doubles and seven RBI. Senior Dave Frew pitched well with just six hits in as many innings, and freshmen relievers Ben Simon and Aaron Narva held the Falcons scoreless for the last three innings, but Tufts' offense was the story of the day.

After falling to an early 4-0 deficit, the Jumbos rebounded with two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. The game broke open in the sixth, when Tufts hammered out six runs, including a tie-breaking two-run single from sophomore Matt Clement and matching two-run doubles from Backstrom and freshman Chris Decembrele. Junior Bob Kenny was also strong at bat, with four hits and three runs.

Entering the season, Tufts' batting lineup was almost entirely up in the air. According to senior co-captain Adam Kacamburas, the team was counting on its underclassmen to fill in the plentiful offensive holes, and their efforts have made a major difference.

"We certainly knew what they were capable of, in terms of providing offensive production, and they've worked really hard," Kacamburas said. "They get better with each game."

Tufts came back for another dominating performance the day after beating Bentley, when last week's rain-postponed game at Mass Maritime finally went down. This time, Tufts' pitching made the difference, as freshman Zak Smotherman (1-1) earned his first win and led the Jumbos to a convincing 8-1 victory.

"You [can't] overlook the pitching performances of the underclassmen," Kacamburas said. "A great outing from Zak yesterday was great to see."

Smotherman struck out seven, walked no one, and allowed just one hit over six innings. The first 15 Buccaneer batters came and went before one, catcher Mike Blomberg, finally scratched out a single in the bottom of the fifth.

Tufts scored all eight of its runs before Mass Maritime even got a hit. Freshman Bryan McDavitt started it off with an RBI single in the first, then picked up another RBI in the third when he drove home Clement, who had opened the inning with a triple. The game slipped further out of the Buccaneers' reach in the fifth, when Tufts notched five runs in an offensive explosion that included a two-run triple from sophomore Greg Chertok. Kacamburas was another major contributor, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

With the momentum of four straight wins behind them, Tufts is now focused on the immediate task at hand: Trinity. Today's game will be followed by a double-header at home tomorrow, starting at noon. Last year's NESCAC champions, the Bantams have posted a 16-3 record this season, including a two shutout, three-game sweep of Bates last weekend.

Trinity's NESCAC record was blemished early, though, with a pair of losses to Bowdoin in their first conference series two weeks ago. The NESCAC is divided into east and west divisions, with the top two teams from each advancing to the playoffs. Tufts is in the East, joined by Trinity, Bowdoin, Colby, and Bates.

"The league will be very competitive this year, which is why we really need to play our best every weekend," Kacamburas said. "We can't lose focus."

On paper, Trinity is strong both on the mound and at bat. Mark Tremblay (4-0) has allowed just two earned runs in 23 innings (0.77 ERA) and is backed up by a deep, skilled pitching staff that includes Matthew Krant (2-0, 1.29 ERA), Kevin Tidmarsh (2-0, 2.17 ERA), and Chris Rodday (3-0, 2.12 ERA). Jeff Natale leads the Bantams in batting average (.485) and slugging percentage (.682), and Eric Shattenkirk, Matt Engster, and Billy Wise are all batting above .350 as well.

"It's nice to get a few wins heading into our first NESCAC east series, but Trinity is a very good team, and we have to play even better than we have [been] if we expect to beat them," Kacamburas said.

Tufts boasts more batters above .350 than does Trinity, with six. Clement has gone .469 in 49 at-bats this season, and Backstrom is batting .405, followed by Kenny (.383), senior Nick Palange (.372, two home runs), and Kacamburas (.356). (Sophomore Jim O'Leary has the team's highest batting average, .500, but has only seen two at-bats.)

"Offensively, we just need to keep working hard to have good at bats and stay disciplined at the plate," Kacamburas said. "There is no need to change our approach."

Defensively, senior co-captain Randy Newsom will look to protect his undefeated record (3-0) on the mound, and to improve his 4.56 ERA. Simon and junior Jeff Volinski currently have Tufts' top ERAs (2.00), and are 2-0 and 1-0, respectively. Simon has already pitched 18 innings in his first season, and Frew, who has pitched 23, has posted a strong 2.35 ERA.

"Our pitchers will have to pitch well this weekend, throw strikes and keep the ball down. All we can do is make the plays when the time comes," Kacamburas said. "Traditionally this is a well-fought series from both sides. I think as long as we maintain a consistent level of play, we can compete with anybody we take the field against. Trinity's no exception to that."

Asked if going up against the defending NESCAC champions put a little extra juice in the team's drive, Kacamburas remained reserved.

"Every game is equal in the standings whether it is Trinity, Bates, or Bowdoin," he replied. "[But] it is definitely important to come out flying and set the tone for the rest of our NESCAC schedule."