After a pair of one-run victories over NESCAC rival Williams Sunday, the baseball team found itself on the wrong side of a one-run game against Brandeis yesterday.
The Jumbos fell 3-2 to the Judges, as a Brandeis home run in the top of the ninth inning gave the Judges the lead and eventually the win.
Having already pitched two innings of two-hit ball, freshman Jack Dilday walked out to the mound in the ninth with hopes of preserving the 2-2 tie. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't to be.
"[Sophomore catcher Alex Perry] called an outside fastball and I threw it to the spot," Dilday said. "The batter did a great job of hitting and took it the other way. It was a combination of the wind and the fact that the ball really jumped off the bat; he just hit it over the fence."
That batter was Brandeis sophomore Drake Livada. Leading off the top of the ninth in the tie game, Livada was just looking to get on base and help his team score.
"I was thinking about getting a pitch to drive, getting on base and starting a rally," Livada said.
He did a lot more than that, hitting a solo shot to right field that ended up deciding the game.
"I knew it was out," Livada said. "Short porch in right - I knew it was out."
The loss drops the Jumbos to 11-7, but the overall feeling after the game was not entirely negative.
"You have to brush it off and just go out there, be a man and compete," Dilday said.
"I don't think it's disappointing," coach John Casey added. "We threw all young pitchers. They all threw well - well enough to win."
The scoring on the day started in the bottom of the third when junior center fielder Dave Katzman and freshman left fielder Ian Goldberg led off the inning with consecutive singles. Junior co-captain Kevin Casey, playing third base, followed that up with another single to bring home Katzman.
After a double play and a walk to sophomore Corey Pontes, the Jumbos had men on first and third with two outs when Goldberg was picked off of third by the catcher to end the inning.
"I was disappointed in the baserunning," John Casey said. "We had chances, and when you're not hitting well, you've got to take advantage of those chances. We had chances to win the game."
The Judges wasted no time in striking back, taking the lead in the top of the fourth. With sophomore Tommy Hill on the mound, freshman shortstop David Leresche let a grounder through his legs to allow the leadoff hitter to reach base.
After a flyout and a single, Brandeis had men on first and second with two out. Hill then gave up a line-drive RBI single for the Judges' first run of the game.
"I wasn't hitting my spots," Hill said. "The two hits that I let up were both two-seamers that were supposed to be on the outside corner, but they ran back over the middle. You want to make them earn it. If you make a pitch and they get a hit, then what are you going to do? I felt like I was giving them runs instead of them taking it."
With men on first and third, Hill committed a balk to allow the second and final run of
the inning.
"I got warned by the umpire, so it was my fault," Hill said. "You've got to come to the set position before you pitch. With guys on first and third, I guess I just didn't come to a full stop, and he called me on it. It was a mental error on my part, and you can't have that in a game as tight as that."
The Jumbos made a bid for the lead in the bottom of the fifth. After Perry and Goldberg singled, Casey was hit by a pitch to load the bases for senior Steve Ragonese.
Ragonese, who leads the team with a .529 average, five home runs and 32 RBI on the season, hit a slow grounder to score a run but was called out on a close play diving into first. Pontes followed with a hard-hit fly ball to left field, but a diving catch by Tony Deshler, the UAA Rookie of the Year, ended the inning.
"We played well," John Casey said. "If the fielder doesn't make that catch, then who knows? That's a couple of runs right there."
After the fifth, the Jumbos managed only one hit the rest of the way. After freshman Pat Nicholson took the mound for Brandeis with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Jumbos failed to reach base once, striking out three times over that span.
Sophomore David Gibbs started the day for the Jumbos, pitching two scoreless innings. Junior Mike Stefaniak also contributed two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth. Nicholson earned the win for the Judges, while Dilday took the loss for the Jumbos.
Tufts will play three games against NESCAC East division rival Bowdoin on Friday and Saturday. Bowdoin is 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the division, while the Jumbos boast a 2-1 division mark.
"The weekend series against Bowdoin is our season," Hill said. "If we don't win, then our playoff chances are close to zero."
