Coming off of a disappointing spring break trip to North Carolina and Virginia, during which it dropped nine of 11 games, the baseball team returned to Medford for its opening NESCAC series this weekend, looking to sweep the visiting Bates Bobcats. Facing a young team that graduated virtually its entire starting lineup last year, the Jumbos knew they had a chance to vent their early frustrations and jumpstart their bid for a conference playoff berth.
But things didn't go exactly as planned for the Jumbos. After taking the first two games, the team wasn't satisfied, and senior co-captain Kevin Casey told his teammates to "do whatever it takes" to complete a sweep of the Bobcats as the Jumbos took the field for the series finale late Saturday. It soon became clear, though, that the sweep was not to be.
The same Bates hitters who struggled to mount rallies in games one and two seemed to come into the series finale with chips on their shoulders, jumping on Tufts' starter, sophomore Chase Rose, for six hits and five runs (four earned) in two-plus innings. Freshman righty Dave Ryan was unable to halt a seven-run Bobcats outburst in the third inning, and by the time junior Tom Hill extinguished the fire, the Jumbos were in an almost insurmountable 10-0 hole.
"I did not pitch well enough to give our team a chance to win," Rose said after the game, which went into the books as a 14-6 defeat.
But the contest was frustrating for just about every player on the Tufts team. The Jumbos left Huskins Field late Saturday afternoon thoroughly dissatisfied with their inability to bring in the brooms.
"It's tough to take away positives knowing that you gave one away because you didn't show up," Kevin Casey said. "Some kids swung the bat well and we made some good defensive plays, but it's obvious that we have a lot of work to do if we want to be anywhere and achieve our goals for the season."
Returning to Huskins on Saturday morning after the game one win, the Jumbos sent sophomore Jack Dilday to the hill for the first game of a doubleheader hoping to secure a series win. But the hard-throwing righty lasted only 2.1 innings, plagued by a lack of fastball command that resulted in four walks. Fortunately for Tufts, senior Mike Stefaniak entered in relief and escaped a precarious bases-loaded jam in the third inning, allowing the Jumbos' offense to patiently do its job against Bates' sophomore starter Paul Chiampa.
Stefaniak's 3.2 innings of one-run ball and freshman Chris DeGoti's scoreless seventh inning -- which earned the freshman his first collegiate save -- were crucial, as Chiampa and the Bobcats' bullpen were stingy with Tufts' hitters. The Jumbos managed only five hits, and two of the three runs they plated in the game were manufactured on sacrifice flies by juniors Nate Bankoff and co-captain Alex Perry. The bullpen's effort made a tense 3-1 lead hold up, locking up the series win for Tufts.
Sophomore right-hander Pat O'Donnell did his part in the home opener on Friday afternoon, holding the Bobcats to just one run in 8.2 innings of work. O'Donnell overcame some location mistakes during the first few innings to scatter 11 hits and record 13 strikeouts, but the most impressive part of his performance was that the Jumbos' ace did not walk a batter.
"It was a great way to start off our NESCAC season," said Rose, who collected two hits and scored two runs in the game. "We really wanted to come out and play better than we did on the trip, and [O'Donnell] gave us a great chance to win."
A two-run homer from Perry and a solo shot from Bankoff paced the Tufts offense, which recovered quickly from an early 1-0 deficit to plate nine runs, giving O'Donnell a comfortable cushion to work with for most of the game. Still, coach John Casey wasn't satisfied with the series-opening 9-1 victory.
"We got the win. I thought [O'Donnell] pitched great for us. But we can improve and play a lot better -- we need to play a lot better to get anywhere against better teams," Casey said to his players in a postgame meeting.
Next up for the Jumbos is a midweek clash with Mass Maritime on Wednesday.
