The baseball team suffered a stunning 10-9 loss to previously 2-20 UMass Dartmouth Tuesday in an out-of-conference clash in North Dartmouth, Mass. Though the loss has no bearing on the NESCAC East standings, the timing couldn't be worse, as the team is gearing up for a three-game series against the nation's No. 5 team, division rival Trinity, this weekend.
"It was just one of those days," senior co-captain Adam Telian said. "Nothing was going right for us. They played better than their record indicated, and we played worse than ours."
UMass Dartmouth entered the contest 18 games under .500, but the Corsairs jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after the first two innings, knocking sophomore pitcher David Gibbs out in the first.
But Tufts responded, tallying eight runs over the next three innings - including seven in the fifth - to take a one-run lead. Twelve Jumbos batted in the fifth, and the highlights included two-run singles from sophomore catcher Alex Perry and freshman designated hitter Chase Rose.
But the 8-7 edge was short-lived, as the Corsairs struck for two in the bottom of the sixth to pull ahead 9-8. An RBI single in the eighth by sophomore first baseman Corey Pontes tied the game at nine apiece, but an RBI infield single in the bottom half the inning by sophomore left fielder Tom LaDore proved to be the game-winner for UMass Dartmouth.
"We just weren't there mentally," freshman pitcher Jack Dilday said. "We lacked emotion in the dugout, we were too lethargic, and that's when something like this can happen."
Dilday gave up one run in two innings and took the loss for the game, dropping him to 0-2 on the year. Junior Mike Stefaniak went 5.1 innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on 10 hits in relief of Gibbs, who lasted just two thirds of an inning.
On the Corsairs' side, freshman Kyle Merrill got the last two outs of the eighth for the win, his first of the year. Freshman Brian Pedrotti pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save.
"There's not really much I can point to that they did particularly well," Telian said. "They just outplayed us. They played more of a complete game."
Though the loss is damaging, the team knows it has to recover and move on.
"We know that it's just one game," Telian said. "We know we're better than how we played on Tuesday, and now we just have to put it behind us."
This weekend, the Jumbos will face Trinity, a team that sports a 24-0 overall record on the year. Fifth-year senior Tim Kiely is among the best pitchers in the nation, at 6-0 with a 0.86 ERA. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that Kiely has not walked a batter in 41.2 innings pitched, while posting 39 strikeouts. Kiely threw a perfect game in a seven-inning outing against the Jumbos last year.
Practice this week should be tough, as the Jumbos try to shake the loss and refocus themselves for the weekend.
"We need to make sure we have two really hard days of practice," Dilday said. "Not necessarily physically, but more mentally in preparing for a game. We need to make sure something like this never happens again."
The Jumbos were scheduled to host Albertus Magnus today, but that game has already been postponed. The extra time gives Tufts the opportunity to rest tired arms for the three-game Trinity series as well as get extra defensive practice and hitting reps outside. Every pitcher on the staff appears to have ample recovery time to be ready to go this weekend.
"Obviously, we have to work on everything we didn't do well on Tuesday," Telian said. "We've just got to get back to the basics."
