As pivotal as last weekend's series against Bowdoin was, this weekend's three-game set with Trinity has even greater implications.
The Jumbos hit the road today for three games against the second-place Bantams in what will certainly be a highly repercussive series. Two or more wins could put Tufts in the driver's seat to finish with the top seed in the NESCAC East heading into the postseason, while anything less might leave the Jumbos stranded on sidelines during the playoffs.
Friday and Saturday's play saw the Jumbos rally with two wins over then-second-place Bowdoin, as Tufts' bats came alive during the series, notching 14 runs in its two wins while the Jumbo hurlers pitched solidly.
The squad will need both of these tools today and tomorrow against a perennially competitive Trinity squad, which is 7-2 in NESCAC play with an impressive overall record of 21-3. The Bantams are on a roll, having won eight-consecutive games after dropping two in a row to Bowdoin in late March.
"We know we can play with anyone," sophomore pitcher Doug Keller said. "But we have to go out there and do it. It takes everyone playing on the same page with the same level of focus to get it done."
Trinity leads the NESCAC in team batting (.360) and pitching (3.44 ERA), in addition to boasting five players with 20 or more RBI and two players who are currently batting over .400. Junior starters Michael Regan and Chandler Barnard lead the team from the mound with ERAs below 3.00 and flawless win-loss records.
The Jumbos are not without their sluggers, however. Led by senior Bryan McDavitt's .395 average, Tufts has seven players hitting above .300. As for its pitching, junior starter Adam Telian has an ERA of 0.74 with opponents batting only .222 against him in 36.2 innings pitched.
With the NESCAC's two teams duking it out this weekend, the series will likely come down to execution, which has been the Jumbos' Achilles heel all season, but the high stakes should have both teams on their toes.
"We know how big these games are," Keller said. "Everyone will be excited to play, but we have to keep that in check. We can't try to overthrow or lose our patience at the plate. It will be important to stick to the game plan."
Tufts hopes for a repeat of last year's contests against Trinity in which the squad trounced the Bantams, sweeping three games at home. This year's test will likely prove tougher, however, as Trinity has only improved and will be defending its home turf. Nonetheless, the Jumbos look to build off of 2006.
"We played well against them last year," Keller said. "Both teams have improved, so these should be some good games. We will try to match-up well and get the job done."
Despite the series' playoff implications, the Jumbos refuse to prepare differently for these games.
"We have scouting reports for each game," senior tri-captain Brian Casey said. "We study how they'll pitch us and how we'll pitch them, but we don't change that on account of how big the game is. We look at each game the same."
With Wednesday's game against UMass Dartmouth cancelled due to rain, the squad remains rested and focused on the important task at hand. The Jumbos feel well prepared and excited for the challenge this weekend.
"There are different kinds of pressure," Casey said. "We try to channel the good pressure and use it as motivation. It's great when a big game is there in your face and you have to respond. We just have to make the plays and let that pressure push us."
