D.J. Hessler, Men's Lacrosse
Freshman attackman D.J. Hessler continued his torrential outpouring of points Saturday against the Bates Bobcats, notching four goals on 10 shots and two assists in the Jumbos 16-10 road victory. After Bates scored less than two minutes into the game, Hessler responded two minutes later with an unassisted goal of his own, neutralizing the Bobcats' only lead of the game.
The rookie phenom is far and away the squad's most prolific offensive player, leading the team with 41 points, 16 points ahead of the next closest player, junior Clem McNally. Hessler is second on the team in goals scored with 19, though he remains the best assist man, posting 22 for the season, the only Jumbo to reach double digits in the category. The contest against Bates tied the freshman's best point performance of the season, as he has tallied six points in three other games, including his first two games in a Tufts jersey against Eastern Conn. March 11 and Skidmore March 8, followed by another six-point effort against Colby April 5.
Izzie Santone, Softball
Freshman pitcher Izzie Santone had quite a day for herself Saturday as the Jumbos took two of three from the visiting Trinity Bantams over the weekend to win the NESCAC East.
Santone was involved in a pitchers' duel in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader versus fellow first-year starter Kristen Anderson. Tufts was able to take the game 2-1 thanks to Santone's best outing of the year, particularly coming off a game against Western Conn. in which she struggled. The Connecticut native hurled a complete game, allowing just three hits over the seven innings and striking out a career-high six batters.
The control issues that had plagued her in the previous outing were non-existent, as Santone did not walk a batter and did not allow a hit after the fourth inning.
To add to her performance, Santone came on in relief for fellow freshman Kim Miner in the second game of the afternoon. Even though the Jumbos could not overcome their sloppy play on defense and went on to lose 5-2, Santone once again stymied the Bantams lineup, tossing 4.1 innings of shutout ball. The freshman fanned six batters once again with only one walk.
Santone was awarded the NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honor yesterday.
