The baseball team has a chance to clinch a playoff berth this weekend when it travels to Maine to battle Colby College. Colby sits at the bottom of the league, with no wins all season, and the three-game series will give the Jumbos the opportunity to achieve their postseason aspirations. Tufts currently sits in second place in the NESCAC-East behind Trinity College, and will look to cushion their lead in the standings over third-ranked Bates College.
In its last outing, Tufts dropped two out of three close games to league-rival Trinity. Even though this weekend's series will be against a team on the opposite side of the competitive spectrum, Tufts is not taking the series lightly.
"Our number one priority is to take two games against them," sophomore third baseman Kyle Backstrom said. "We can't worry about who we play; we need to worry about how we play. If we do what we're supposed to be doing on the field everything should take care of itself."
The Jumbos will look to exploit Colby's pitching, which has been a major weakness for the Mules all season. Colby's pitching staff has a combined total ERA of 9.46 compared to Tufts' combined ERA of 2.46. Despite their poor pitching, the Mules bats have matched up well against Tufts in the past.
"Anything can happen," senior catcher and captain Bob Kenny said. "They have five or six good bats that have hit really well for them. They're having a rough season, but still hit the ball hard. We're going to go out there and try to work their pitchers. If we hit off them we should be fine."
The Tufts' pitching rotation for this weekend has not been set yet, according to coach John Casey. Junior Zak Smotherman and sophomores Derek Rice and Ben Simon have been the weekend pitchers all season, and will most likely pitch. The order will be determined based on which pitcher is the best rested and ready to go before game time, according to Casey.
On offense, Tufts has been solid all season. The team has put up big numbers, posting 161 runs on the season thus far. The Jumbos also have a combined .303 batting average. But according to players, the one weakness that has hampered the team all season long has been the Jumbos' inability to maintain close leads and to put teams away in key situations. The problem may be more mental than physical, but the Jumbos must fix the problem especially with the post-season on the horizon.
"We can't be complacent and sit on leads when we have them," Kenny said. "We've been doing everything else well this season. I think the problem is due to a combination of things, but when we get close leads we need to keep scoring runs and come up at the plate."
Casey, however, did not see the problem, and believes there are few weaknesses on his team.
"I don't think we need to work on anything," Casey said. "I think we've played very well all season and the close losses were due to a number of things."
According to Casey, the team has had solid pitching and defense all year long. The leadership of his veteran players, especially Kenny, has made it easier for the team's younger talents to integrate smoothly and contribute this season.
Although Casey was hesitant to look forward to the playoffs, he's confident in his team if they continue to focus and play well.
"We're just focusing on the games at hand this weekend for right now," Casey said. "But mainly, we just need to go out there and do what we've been doing all season and make plays. It's our job to win, and if we don't play well we don't deserve to win."
