While some of the student body may have spent spring break tanning on beaches along both the East and West Coasts, the baseball team spent the week playing a rigorous stretch of games in Virginia and North Carolina.
After a rough opening weekend in southern Virginia, in which the Jumbos dropped their first two games, the team rebounded, winning seven of its next nine and amassing a 7-4 record to begin the 2006 season.
"We did some good things and some bad things down there," said senior southpaw Zak Smotherman, who turned in two solid outings on the mound. "But I don't think we've put it all together yet. I'm still looking forward to that."
On Sunday afternoon, the Jumbos split a double-header with Virginia Wesleyan. Junior tri-captain Ben Simon pitched a complete game in the opener, winning 7-1, while a fatigued Tufts staff suffered an 8-3 loss in the nightcap.
The previous day, Tufts swept the home-team Apprentice Builders in a doubleheader, 15-1 and 4-3. Smotherman pitched a complete-game gem in the opening game, striking out 11, walking two and surrendering just four hits.
"I tried to get ahead on the hitters, throw strikes and get the ball down in the zone," Smotherman said of the win, which snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Builders.
Junior tri-captain Bryan McDavitt and senior centerfielder Jim O'Leary provided the offensive support for Smotherman. Both sluggers drove in three runs; McDavitt was 3-for-5 at the plate and O'Leary was 2-for-3.
McDavitt and O'Leary continued their hot hitting in the second game, both going 2-for-4 and providing the impetus for a pair of two-run rallies in the game, one in the fourth inning and one in the sixth, to put Tufts up 4-0. Sophomore Adam Telian compiled six scoreless innings, but stumbled in the seventh inning.
After allowing a walk and a double to start the seventh, Telian left the game, handing the ball over to sophomore Jason Protano and senior Erik Johanson to close it out. Johanson eventually recorded the save, stifling an Apprentice comeback and finishing off a 4-3 win.
The sweep came on the heels of a lopsided 13-6 loss at Greensboro on Friday, as the Pride overcame an early 4-1 deficit to score nine runs in the third against junior hurlers Carlos Lopez and Brian Casey. Despite two home runs from freshman centerfielder Brian McDonough, Tufts failed to recover from the nightmarish third inning.
Junior pitcher Derek Rice turned in a masterpiece for the Jumbos against North Carolina Wesleyan on Thursday, pitching a complete game, scattering eight hits and allowing just one earned run.
In the seventh inning of that game, senior tri-captain Greg Chertok and junior left-fielder Kyle Backstrom ignited a three-run rally and the Jumbos pulled away with a 3-2 win, the team's fourth straight victory.
The previous three wins for the Jumbos included a 3-1 win over Methodist Wednesday and a pair of wins on Monday afternoon: a 6-4 win over Guilford and a 15-2 drubbing of Maryville.
Simon and Johanson joined forces and allowed just one run to the Monarchs on Wednesday afternoon. Johanson was flawless, as he entered the game in the sixth and went on to retire all ten batters he faced. Backstrom was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Jumbos at the plate, while junior center fielder Chris Decembrele was 2-for-3.
McDavitt emerged as the hero in Monday's victory over Guilford, as his single with one out in the ninth scored Brian Casey and broke a 4-4 tie. Telian pitched seven and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs, while Protano worked the end of the eighth and the ninth inning to emerge with the win.
The Jumbos suffered a pair of losses in Virginia over the opening weekend, as Lynchburg topped Tufts 10-2 and Randolph-Macon emerged with a 6-4 victory. The Jumbos' lineup was held to a .258 batting average in the two weekend contests, and both Simon and Rice had rocky outings on the mound.
The turning point in the week came in the Maryville game, where the Jumbos recovered from their opening-weekend losses and earned their first victory of the season - a 15-2 blowout of the Scots.
"That was a good sort of breakout game, especially for our hitters," said Smotherman, who earned the win, his first of two on the week.
The Jumbos stood at 7-4 following Saturday's games, but are still not at full strength, as junior closer Aaron Narva continues to nurse an elbow injury.
"He's going to be a little bit behind, because we're going to be conservative, because it matters when we get back," coach John Casey said.
Meanwhile, Casey has relied upon Protano and Johanson to lead the Jumbos' weakened bullpen.
"[Protano] has taken a big step from his freshman year to this year," Casey said.
