The Bates Bobcats chose an opportune time to get the Jumbos off their backs for their first win against Tufts since 1991, a stretch during which they had lost 24 straight games to the Jumbos.
Opportune for Bates, crushing for the postseason-hopeful Jumbos.
Entering the weekend needing a sweep of the Bobcats (13-18, 6-6 NESCAC-East) to clinch the second and final NESCAC-East Division berth ahead of Bowdoin in this weekend's conference tournament, the Jumbos (18-13, 6-6 East) started promisingly Friday with a 6-1 win behind a complete game from senior co-captain Randy Newsom. But Tufts dropped Saturday's doubleheader opener 3-1, ending hopes of a fourth consecutive tournament appearance. Bates clinched the series with a 9-0 win in the rubber game.
"We just didn't play well enough to win," coach John Casey said. "We played four innings Friday and that was enough to win, but then we didn't [do anything] Saturday."
In his final collegiate start, Newsom (6-1, 3.20 ERA) limited Bates to a single unearned run on just four hits, striking out seven. The righty walked six but was aided by 13 groundouts, and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third to hold Bates scoreless through four. After allowing the unearned run, he kept the Bobcats leashed the rest of the way, limiting Bates to one hit over the final four frames while setting down the side on strikes in the eighth.
"Randy's been our best pitcher for the last month," freshman starter Ben Simon said. "You can sense in the other dugout that they know they're not going to hit him. On Saturday they were all loud and chipper, but when Newsom pitched you couldn't hear a peep from their bench."
The Jumbos left the bases jammed in the first, but, unlike the home team, were able to break through early against Bobcat starter Griffin Finan. Tufts got things going in the second, with four consecutive singles by freshman designated hitter John Rothermel, junior catcher Bob Kenny, freshman Brian Casey and senior co-captain and third baseman Adam Kacamburas, plating two. Rookie shortstop Kyle Backstrom then made it 3-0 with a two-out RBI single up the middle.
Tufts extended its lead to 5-0 in a hitless fourth inning that featured two errors and a walk, and a fifth inning Kacamburas sac fly off Bates reliever Chris Gwozdz gave Tufts a 6-0 lead.
Saturday's opener saw Simon (4-2, 2.01 ERA) go the distance for Tufts, surrendering just four hits in a hard luck loss.
Tufts drew first blood, scratching out a lone run in the third on Brian Casey's leadoff single and steal and a Kacamburas RBI single. But Tufts left two men in scoring position that inning, and it was Bobcat junior Mike Kinsman's game from then on. The righty posted zeros the rest of the way in a seven-inning complete game effort, allowing just six hits to a Tufts offense that had scored 51 runs during the previous five games. The Jumbos also lost freshman first baseman Bryan McDavitt's big bat midway through the game to a hamstring injury that he first suffered last week.
Simon put on his own show, keeping Bates to just one hit through four scoreless innings. But with runners on first and second and two outs in the fifth, senior catcher Matt Peterson doubled to tie the game. Simon appeared to work his way out of trouble by getting second baseman Adam Taranto to hit a grounder to short, but a Backstrom error allowed both Peterson and junior DH Nate Reid to come around with the go-ahead and insurance runs.
"We were pressing a little too much at the plate and were a little tight in the field," Simon said. "I made some bad pitches in that inning. It was a tough game in general."
Tufts put two on in the sixth and Brian Casey reached in the seventh, but Kinsman stranded the Jumbos both times, leaving the team's playoff hopes on second base along with Casey to end the game.
Saturday afternoon's 9-0 blowout saw both junior starters, Jumbo Jeremy Davis (3-2, 4.66) and Bobcat John Ribas (4-4, 4.57), go the distance in the nine-inning affair. Davis started solidly, allowing two runs through five innings of work, but Bates broke the game open with a four-run outburst in the sixth. The righty didn't help his own cause by committing two errors that led to Bobcat runs.
On the other side of the hill, meanwhile, Ribas kept the lackadaisical Jumbos off the scoreboard, working a five-hit shutout and allowing just one Jumbo to reach third base all game.
Out of postseason contention, Tufts returned to campus yesterday for the home finale against the out-of-conference Babson Beavers (24-15), who had fallen 9-4 to Tufts last Tuesday. Sophomore Zak Smotherman (3-2, 2.97) worked on a no-hitter through five and a third innings before settling for an 8-3 win.
"Zak pitched a very good game," John Casey said. "He's pitched very well for us, there's just the curse of playing two sports, [hockey and baseball]. It takes a while to get his pitch count up, but he's been doing well out there."
Tufts closes out its 2004 campaign tonight at nationally fourth-ranked Eastern Connecticut (28-8), and will end the season with its first sub-20 win season since 1999.
