Trinity sweeps Tufts in three-game series

It didn't have to end this way.

Down by two games in a three game series, Tufts baseball powered back Saturday afternoon to nearly close the weekend with a win over defending NESCAC champion Trinity.

Instead, a three-run homer in the top of the eighth ended any chance at revenge for the struggling Jumbos, and settled the game at 12-11, and the series at 3-0, Trinity. Friday afternoon, Trinity prevailed, 4-3, and Saturday morning, 4-1. Tufts has now fallen to 10-9, and 0-3 in the NESCAC East.

Game three was by far the wildest of the dismal series for the Jumbos, with Tufts taking substantial leads three times and the Bantams consistently charging back into contention. In the bottom of the second inning, Tufts gained a 3-0 advantage off RBI doubles from junior Jeff Volinski and sophomore Jim O'Leary, followed by an RBI base hit from freshman Brian Casey. Trinity brought it to 3-2 in the top of the fourth, and pulled ahead 5-2 in the fifth.

Tufts answered with a six-run explosion in the bottom of that inning, with RBIs from sophomore Robert Kenny and freshmen Bryan McDavitt and Chris Decemberle. The Jumbos also benefited from smart base running, including a steal by lead-off man Casey, a throwing error by the Bantams, and two wild pitches that allowed runs in.

"We had some great at bats and capitalized on mistakes that Trinity made," senior co-captain Adam Kacamburas said. "We knew if we put pressure on their defense we could take advantage of them."

O'Leary had the most impressive at-bat of the bottom-of-the-fifth rally, as he forced Trinity pitcher Kyle Cox to throw almost a dozen pitches and made way for two unearned runs to cross the plate during his at bat.

"Two runs were able to score simply because [O'Leary] worked really hard in that at bat," Kacamburas said.

The Bantams caught up to Tufts and made it 9-9 in the top of the sixth, a tumultuous half-inning that saw Tufts coach John Casey ejected from the game after a highly questionable call by the home plate umpire.

With runners on second and third and two outs, Trinity junior Rob O'Leary smacked one to the far corner of right field and Tufts' Clement raced for the catch. From much of the field, as well as the press box, the view of Clement was obscured by trees and batting cages, but he appeared to emerge back into view with the ball in glove and motioning that he had made the catch. According to the officials, though, Clement did not make the catch, the play was ruled an error, and two Bantam runners scored on the hit.

"Clement caught the ball and the umpire blew it and said he didn't catch it," Kacamburas said. "It's very frustrating, but we can only control our performance. We put ourselves in a position to win those games, despite the umpires, and we just didn't come through. We need to take care of what's in our control."

Senior co-captain Randy Newsom echoed Kacamburas, expressing disappointment in the call but insisting it was no excuse for the loss.

"The biggest grievance is that neither umpire watched it," Newsom said. "But I don't think the umps cost us the game. You should never put yourself in a position where the umps can cost you the outcome, but we did."

When Clement caught a fly ball to finally close out the top of the sixth, Tufts initially appeared to recover its lead as Clement took revenge with an RBI single down the right field line, to pull ahead 10-9. Kenny then doubled and drove Decemberle home in the 7th inning, putting the Jumbos up 11-9.

Trinity junior Jeff Natale reversed the lead for good when he launched a three-run homer over the left-center field wall and made it 12-11. Tufts got one runner on base in each of their last at-bats, but stranded both men.

"It wasn't nearly as much a question of getting on base as scoring," Newsom said. "That's our number one thing, we need to start putting people away. When we have people down, we just need to keep them down."

Newsom said that Tufts could have and should have beaten the Bantams.

"I don't think it's a talent thing at all," Newsom said. "Those were mental losses."

Kacamburas agreed that throughout the series, Tufts had the chance to take a victory.

"I felt like we battled for all three games but just didn't make the plays, or get the hits, when we needed to," Kacamburas said.

There were missed opportunities, some which could have turned the tables in Tufts' favor, this weekend. There was, however, strength and versatility to be found in individual performances. Volinski, typically a pitcher, played strong left field for Tufts in game three, with skilled fielding, a strong arm, and a production at bat and on base. Backstrom, typically a DH this season, gave a good showing at shortstop in game three, and Casey moved from leftfield to second base for part two of the doubleheader.

The entire infield adjusted well following some reshuffling due to the injury of senior Nick Palange during a fielding collision in game one. Palange, who leads Tufts' with two home runs, had established himself this season as a regular starter at second base and one of Tufts' top hitters (.372 batting average).

He suffered a sprained knee ligament and according to the athletic trainers may be out for a few weeks, though he said he aims to return to the diamond as soon as next weekend.

Newsom (4.64 ERA) started game one for the Jumbos, going 7.1 innings, and was followed up by scoreless relief efforts from Volinski and senior Dave Frew. Offensively, Decemberle contributed a powerful triple to center field and later scored, and Kacamburas had an RBI single, both in the seventh.

McDavitt reached base and scored on fielding errors, but the Bantams weren't the only ones with a bit of sloppiness, as Tufts pitchers hit a combined seven batters in game one, and several more in the remainder of the series. Newsom said that "little mistakes" -- like a bad pitch, an error, or a stranded base runner -- all need to be eliminated if Tufts is going to advance to the post-season.

"We'll all take the blame, but its just a few little mistakes. One pitch can send the game into a complete tailspin," Newsom said. "We need to make plays when they're right there for us. But I have confidence in this team, I don't think we're done."