The softball team thought it had righted the ship after sweeping a doubleheader Monday at Bridgewater State, ending a skid that saw the team lose three games in a row and four of five overall.
But the Jumbos ran into a traditionally strong Babson team on Tuesday in their second doubleheader in as many days, salvaging a split with the Beavers and falling to 5-7 in their last 12 games. The team refused to blame its recent setbacks on its strenuous schedule, however.
"I think playing four games in two days, being tired is inevitable," junior tri-captain Megan Cusick said. "But it certainly didn't show in our play. So whether or not people were sore or tired, it really didn't show up in the game."
Tufts ended the day on a positive note after pulling out the second game 11-3 in a six-inning mercy rule contest. The Jumbo offense pounced on Beavers' freshman pitcher Danielle Liska right out of the gate, batting around in the first inning and plating five runs. The big blows came on two-run hits from sophomore Cara Hovhanessian and junior pitcher Erica Bailey.
"We just decided to leave that first game behind us, leave it on the field and not carry over from that first game," Cusick said. "We just started fresh and we started being more aggressive at the plate and hitting a little better. It got us some momentum and kept us going."
But Babson capitalized on Bailey's early wildness and cut into the deficit in the bottom of the first. Bailey walked two batters and threw three wild pitches in the inning, allowing the Beavers to score two runs and giving the Jumbos a 5-2 advantage heading into the second inning.
Tufts again pushed its lead to five with a two-run single by sophomore outfielder Maya Ripecky, chasing Liska out of the game after she allowed six earned runs in two innings. Ultimately, it was the Jumbos' persistence on the offensive end that helped Bailey settle down, as she held the Beavers to just two hits in the final four innings.
"Anytime you have a few runs to work with, it makes it so much easier," junior Heather Kleinberger said. "There's less pressure. You still have to make the pitches, but you can afford one mistake. Especially for her mental game, having that run support definitely, I think, helped her."
The Jumbos put the game out of reach in the fourth inning, after errors by senior reliever Stacy Schlicht and senior shortstop Darcy Lantz led to two unearned runs.
The offensive outburst seen in the second game was a stark contrast from game one, in which the Beavers' junior pitcher Jess Byrn stymied the Jumbos.
Byrn escaped jams in nearly every inning, setting Tufts down in order just twice. In the second, third, fifth and seventh innings, the Jumbos failed with a runner in scoring position and two outs. The team mounted its biggest threat in the third inning, but freshman shortstop Casey Sullivan grounded out with runners on second and third and two outs.
"We took a few too many first strikes," Kleinberger said. "When you get behind in the count it's harder obviously. We just weren't really aggressive enough. We did get baserunners on, but we couldn't get the key hit when we needed it. But you have to give [Byrn] credit, too. She's a good pitcher."
The lone Jumbo runs came in the fourth inning, when freshman first baseman Christy Tinker and freshman second baseman Jenna Robey scored after sophomore right fielder Kim D'Agostino dropped a fly ball.
Meanwhile, the Beaver offense got to freshman pitcher Stefanie Tong early and often. Babson put together a three-run first inning, beginning when senior leadoff hitter Andrea Cartullo was hit by a pitch. Two batters later, sophomore first baseman Kaitlyn Clark roped a two-run double, putting Tufts in a quick 2-0 deficit without having recorded an out.
Sophomore Lauren Gelmetti came in to relieve Tong with two outs in the fourth and held the Beaver offense at bay the rest of the game.
But the Jumbo offense never solved Byrn, who went the distance on a six-hitter, striking out six and surrendering just two unearned runs to pick up her fifth win on the year.
Tufts returns home this weekend for a critical divisional series against Bowdoin, currently in last place in the NESCAC East.
