The baseball team routed the Div. II Bentley College Falcons on Wednesday, using a prolific offensive attack and solid pitching to earn a 13-2 win and stop a four-game losing streak. Tufts improved to 14-12, while the Falcons fell to 17-23 overall.
The Jumbos' offense started the game relatively slowly, scoring one run in each of the first two innings on RBI singles from sophomore first baseman Corey Pontes and junior co-captain Kevin Casey. Freshman shortstop David Leresche hit a two-out, two-RBI double in the third to widen the gap even more.
"I felt like I was seeing the ball well," Leresche said. "I was able to hit a few mistakes. I was just trying to stay back and not trying to do too much, and obviously it turned out well."
The real output came in the fourth inning, however, when Tufts used five hits and two errors to bring home five runs. The effort pushed the Jumbo lead to 9-0 and effectively put the game out of reach for the Falcons.
The inning started with a double by Casey, followed by an error that allowed freshman outfielder Ian Goldberg to reach base and Casey to score. A single and walk loaded the bases for freshman designated hitter Chase Rose, who singled through the left side to drive in two runs. Two batters later, Leresche hit his second two-run double of the game to score the final runs of the inning. His four RBI on the day upped his season total to 16.
"It was definitely nice to kind of break out and get some big hits when we needed them," Leresche said. "It was good to get my momentum, and I think it was important for the team to get some momentum going into this weekend."
The Falcons scored their only two runs of the game in the fifth inning off of freshman Derek Miller, who has tallied only 8.2 innings on the year. Miller gave up three hits and hit a batter in allowing the two runs, but it was an otherwise stellar day for Tufts pitching.
Seven other pitchers got into the game for Tufts, none of whom allowed a run. Freshman Ed Bernstein started the game and pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts to earn his first win in a Tufts uniform. Senior Jason Protano, junior Mike Stefaniak, sophomores David Gibbs and Tommy Hill and freshmen Jack Dilday and Pat O'Donnell each pitched an inning, combining to allow seven hits and no runs over six innings.
"Usually on a Tuesday we have a guy go three or four innings and then have the bullpen take over," senior co-captain Adam Telian said. "It was a Wednesday, and we wanted everyone available for the weekend, so nobody threw too much. I think the most someone threw was 26 pitches, and the rest were down around 15. It was basically just a bullpen session for everyone to work on their mechanics and throwing strikes."
The team saw no shortage of quality hitting performances, either. Casey, Rose, Pontes and senior second baseman Steve Ragonese had two hits apiece, while sophomore Alex Perry, junior Ari David and Leresche each had three hits. The team totaled 19 hits, four of them doubles, along with six walks and four steals in the win.
The Jumbos now look to a three-game series with Colby next weekend, their last NESCAC East competition of the regular season. Tufts currently stands at 4-5 in the conference but is a half-game over Bowdoin (3-5) for second place in the division. If the Jumbos sweep Colby, 2-6 in conference and 15-11 overall, they are guaranteed a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.
"We have to take three to make the playoffs, and the season's a waste if we don't," Telian said. "Everyone knows the pressure's on, but we're all feeling good, especially after the way we played [Wednesday]. We know what we can do and we're ready to get it done."
