Wild Trinity series produces less than impressive baseball

You should expect some tough competition against one of the best teams in the NESCAC, especially one ranked 14th in the nation with a 16-3 record. But it wasn't just tough, it was ugly, and in the end the Jumbos were downed in three straight games by the Trinity Bantams (19-3), a series that Tufts (10-9) would probably like to forget.



Targeted Man

In a three-game series that, in some respect, resembled a Red Sox-Devil Rays anger management class, Tufts pitchers hit six Trinity batters 12 times -- including five plunks of Bantams' leading hitter, junior second baseman Jeff Natale -- while Trinity plunked Tufts hitters twice.

For his part, Natale, who might be among the NESCAC's better offensive players with a .480 average, two homers, 23 RBI and a .720 slugging percentage, was not completely innocent. After reaching base on a single in the seventh inning in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, a wild pick off throw by Tufts reliever Dave Frew sent freshman first baseman Bryan McDavitt sprawling over Natale.

In the tangle of bodies, Natale jumped up, grabbed McDavitt's legs and pulled them away to try to reach second base. The Bantam runner was called out on base runner's interference, adding to bad blood that was clearly evident in Friday's game, when he was hit three times.

In the second inning of Saturday's game two, Natale further enraged the Jumbo dugout when on a routine double play ball hit by Tufts sophomore Matt Clement, senior co-captain Adam Kacamburas slid into second base and was promptly kicked -- and spiked -- in the arm by Natale. Natale, naturally, was hit by Jumbo starter Jeremy Davis on his next trip to the plate.

But in the end it was Natale who won out, making the most of the chances he received to actually swing at the ball. The Hamden, Connecticut native went 2-2 with a run scored in Saturday's opener, then capped it off in game two with a two-run double in Trinity's controversial four-run sixth inning, and the eventual game-winning three-run homer to left field off Frew, who again pitched in relief.



Johnny Damon-esque

The weekend did not start pleasantly for Tufts, as Friday's series opener was but two thirds of an inning old when Jumbos' senior second baseman Nick Palange and freshman center fielder Chris Decembrele both scrambled for a shallow fly ball hit by Bantam DH Rob O'Leary. With both players calling for the ball, neither backed off and collided in shallow centerfield. Decembrele was shaken up but remained in the game, but Palange, who has been off to a stellar start (.372 BA, 2 HR), left the game with pulled tendons in his knee and will be out indefinitely.

The injury forced coach John Casey to make some defensive adjustments in the series, with junior Frank Dinucci subbing for Palange on Friday and getting the start in game one Saturday. In the series finale, freshman Kyle Backstrom, who has served primarily at DH this year, moved to shortstop, junior Jeff Volinski, who has split time between pitching and the outfield, started in leftfield, while freshman left fielder Brian Casey moved to second base.



Making their cases

Amongst the ugliness of Saturday's finale were some bright spots. Sophomore Jim O'Leary, who entered the game with just two at bats off the bench, started his first game of the season hitting seventh as DH. The move was a good one for the 6-4, 220-pounder, who laced a RBI double in the second, then two at bats later followed with a ten pitch battle against Trinity reliever Kyle Cox that included two runs scored on a passed ball and wild pitch. O'Leary then fouled off four two-strike pitches to keep himself alive before finally drawing a walk.

In the same game Volinski made a nice diving catch in left on a drive by Trinity's Angel Resto with two on and no outs in the sixth to record the first out for Frew, who had just entered the game. Volinski also had a double, a walk and single.



You're outta here!

Just when you thought it couldn't have gotten any wilder, it did. In Trinity's sixth in the series finale Rob O'Leary lofted a flyball deep down the rightfield line with two on. Jumbo RF Matt Clement appeared to make the inning-ending catch to help Frew escape trouble, but confusion arose over the play with the umpires claiming Clement had either missed or dropped the ball. Two runs scored, allowing Trinity to tie the score 9-9.

The umpiring decision brought Casey quickly from the Tufts dugout. After a heated, expletive-filled dialogue with the home plate umpire that lasted several minutes, during which Casey had to be restrained by the second ump, Casey and his brother, who was also a member of the dugout during the Saturday twinbill, were ejected from the game.

To their credit, the Jumbos regrouped after the half-inning, led by Kacamburas, and came out firing in the bottom half. But Natale's blast silenced the Jumbos for good.