It appeared that Tufts brought a different team to this weekend's three-game series against Bowdoin than the one that jumped to No. 9 in the national polls, propelled by an 11-4 record and an explosive offense.
After posting double-digit run totals in their previous four games, the Jumbos scored a mere six and connected on 12 combined hits in all three games, as the Polar Bears completed a sweep, winning 3-2, 3-1 and 4-3. The losses dropped the Jumbos to 11-7 on the season and improved Bowdoin to 13-5.
The trio of losses will force Tufts to fight even harder to maintain its customary position at the top of the league beside Trinity. Tufts' mediocre 3-3 conference record places it in the middle of the pack, behind both Bowdoin and Trinity.
But with only three NESCAC series left to play in the season, the Jumbos need to approach each weekend on its own.
"We're not thinking about the standings right now," said senior Ben Chang, who was responsible for two of the Jumbos' three runs on Sunday. "We just need to take it one game at a time, and focus on each game. If we start looking ahead at the standings, we'll lose focus on our main goals. We need to take care of our own business."
In a 3-1 hole heading into the seventh inning of Sunday's game, Tufts fought back to tie the score at three apiece. With two outs, junior Kyle Backstrom and freshman Aaron Sommer sparked a two-out rally when they drew back-to-back walks off of Bowdoin starter and senior tri-captain Ricky Leclerc. Chang's subsequent two-RBI single put Tufts back in the game and sent Leclerc to the bench.
But as was the case throughout the series, Bowdoin countered in the bottom half of the frame to take its final advantage on an RBI double by senior Jared Lemieux. That was all that Bowdoin needed to emerge victorious, as Tufts failed to string together a comeback rally in its two final chances.
"It was frustrating because we felt that we could come back and win," Chang said. "We fought until the end; we had the tying run on base in top of the ninth, but we just couldn't get the job done."
In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, Tufts again had difficulty generating offense, squandering a solid pitching effort by junior Derek Rice and scratching out only four hits in a 3-1 loss.
After four scoreless innings, Bowdoin grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fifth. The Polar Bears led off the inning with two singles; a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners to second and third, allowing Bowdoin's Leclerc to pick up an RBI and hand his team a one run lead.
Rice was hit with a line drive in the right thigh during the inning, and although he recorded the final outs of the set, the play disrupted the momentum of his four-inning shutout as a Leclerc single to third scored for the Polar Bears.
The Jumbos countered with a run of their own in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by senior Jim O'Leary, which drove in junior Chris Decembrele from third base. Unfortunately for Tufts, this was the only offense it would generate for the entire game.
"Their pitching was good," senior tri-captain Greg Chertok said. "We didn't do some of the things that usually make us successful on offense, though. We were hitting to the left [side], and our coach always stresses taking it the other way to right [field]. They made a few errors, but they played good defense, which didn't give us many opportunities. But if you don't hit the ball well, then you don't give yourself many opportunities."
Sophomore Adam Telian, relieving Rice, surrendered two earned runs in his three innings of work. Bowdoin scored a pair of runs, one in the seventh and one in the eighth, to clinch the victory.
The first loss on Saturday was a more painful one for the Jumbos, as they held a 2-1 lead with two outs in the bottom of the last inning. With runners on first and third, junior John Lawrie hit a sinking line drive to the gap in left-center. O'Leary, the centerfielder, who was positioned slightly deeper than normal to protect against an extra-base hit, dove for the ball and missed. As the runner at first base scored when the ball rolled by O'Leary, giving the Polar Bears their first victory of the series.
"I went for a diving catch to end the game," O'Leary said. "The [Bowdoin] player scored from first because he was running on contact. It was obviously a big play. Maybe I shouldn't have gone for it in retrospect, especially since I was playing deeper than usual."
Hoping to rebound from its losses, Tufts will return to Huskins for its first home game of the season to face a Brandeis team looking to rebound from a loss on Saturday against Babson that broke a seven-game winning streak for the Judges.
"We need to be ready to play from the beginning," Chang said. "Every time we take the field, we need to be mentally and physically prepared. Obviously, we weren't at our best this weekend."
