Looking back (March 30) | Baseball 26, Bates 3
On Saturday, the baseball team lost to Bates for the first time in four years. On Sunday, the Jumbos responded with a fury.
Behind the strength of its best offensive performance since March 16, 2003, Tufts destroyed Bates 26-3 in the second of a three-game series against its NESCAC East rivals. Only the Jumbos' 28-5 rout of Randolph-Macon five years ago eclipsed this offensive outburst in recent memory.
The explosion included large contributions by senior Steve Ragonese and sophomores Alex Perry and Corey Pontes, who combined for 14 runs batted in. Ragonese's prowess pinnacled with his seventh-inning grand slam, which accounted for the final runs in the seven-inning affair.
The Jumbos exhibited great balance in their attack, as 11 different players scored runs. Tufts never took its foot off the pedal, bringing in runs in all but one inning and exploding in the fourth and seventh innings with eight and nine runs, respectively.
Tufts dominated not only behind the plate but also on the mound. Behind senior starter Jason Protano, the pitching staff allowed just two earned runs in the game while racking up nine strikeouts.
The Jumbos' bats did not die out after seven innings of thrashing; they took the second game of the day 9-3 to complete the doubleheader sweep. In all, Tufts outscored Bates by a combined score of 41-14 over the weekend to open up divisional play 2-1.
Looking ahead (April 5) | Div. I Men's Basketball Final Four
This weekend's Final Four in San Antonio marks the first time in history that all four No. 1 seeds have won their respective regions. With a spot in the national championship game on the line, the four teams will face off on Saturday in two highly anticipated games.
In the first game, UCLA will face Memphis. The Bruins' program is in the midst of an impressive resurgence, as this will mark the third year in a row that coach Ben Howland has led his team to the Final Four. UCLA has enjoyed a relatively easy ride through the tournament thus far, winning all of its games by at least 10 points.
That should change on Saturday when the Bruins face Memphis, a team that won its first 26 games before finally losing to in-state rival Tennessee in late February. Memphis has received criticism for its paltry regular season schedule, but the Tigers proved their worth by defeating Texas by 18 points in the Elite Eight.
In the second game, UNC will square off against coach Roy Williams' former school, Kansas. The Tar Heels are led by Tyler Hansbrough, while the Jayhawks feature a balanced scoring attack in which four players average double figures. UNC boasts a substantial edge in experience, as Kansas' Bill Self is coaching in his first-ever Final Four.
The victors of each game will square off in Monday night's national championship game. Of the Final Four participants, Memphis is the only school to have failed to reach the title game in the last five years.
