Softball coach Cheryl Milligan is not going to sugarcoat it. Her team's infield is "the best around, no question."
The national No. 12 Jumbos have an infield that has racked up accolades aplenty over the past few years, including seven of the past eight NESCAC Player of the Year awards, six all-conference selections in 2008 and two All-Americans.
"Our infield is certainly incredibly talented," Milligan said. "There is not a whole lot to say about them other than they have certainly done the majority of the hitting on this team. They are the power hitters; they are the main parts."
The infield starts with last year's NESCAC Player of the Year, junior first baseman Christy Tinker. In her sophomore season, Tinker, who was also part of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-New England first team, brought the pop to the Jumbos' lineup with a team-leading eight home runs and .646 slugging percentage. Tinker has more to her game than just power, however, as she also hit .381 and drew 12 walks.
Her partner on the right side of the infield, fifth-year senior second baseman Danielle Lopez, has piled up her own individual achievements. A 2005 All-American and the 2006 NESCAC Player of the Year, Lopez has been one of the most accomplished Tufts hitters in program history. After missing 2007 with a knee injury, she led the team last season with 39 RBIs and needs just 10 in 2009 to break the Tufts record held by Lis Drake (LA '03).
"We have always prided ourselves on the fact that we have such a deep lineup and that we can call on anybody," Lopez said. "We have such a strong one-through-nine lineup. You can't ask for anything better than when you can't do your job, having a person right behind you that can."
Senior quad-captains third baseman Samantha Kuhles and catcher/utility Cara Hovhanessian both were second-team All-NESCAC selections last year. The pair put up similar numbers, hitting .406 and .407 respectively and knocking in 27 runs apiece. While Kuhles has manned the hot corner for the past three seasons, Hovhanessian has been the primary DH. With the loss of Megan Cusick (LA '08), however, Hovhanessian should see more time behind the plate.
The last piece to the infield puzzle is junior shortstop Casey Sullivan. An All-American in 2007, Sullivan filled up the stat sheets last year despite slowing down somewhat at the tail end of the season. Alhough she was the only member of the infield not to garner postseason honors, she is still a big part of the Jumbos' lineup and put up some gaudy stats, hitting seven home runs and finishing second on the team with 33 runs scored.
This quintet helped the Jumbos lead the NESCAC in every major offensive category last season. Though there is no denying the talent that the Jumbos possess, Milligan hopes that there will be less of a drop-off at the end of the season than in years past.
"They still need to go out and do it," Milligan said. "We are not going to be satisfied if they go out and do it all season and can't do it when it really counts, which has happened the last couple of years."
Tufts has been an offensive juggernaut, but Milligan also wants to see her infield improve defensively. The Jumbos will score runs, but they need to be able to back up their pitchers if they have an off day at the plate.
"We can be many errors better for sure," Milligan said. "We made a ton of errors last year. I mean, we made a ton and they were almost all in the infield. We made 29 errors last year in California alone ... But we are an offensive team, and that is how we are deciding to take the field. That said, we have been fortunate to put out a very good defense even going with our best hitters."
Despite the early struggles, the Jumbos managed to turn things around and lead the league in fielding percentage. They also turned almost twice as many more double plays, 21, as the next-closest team in the conference, Hamilton. With all of the experience in both the infield and outfield, the Jumbos are hoping that they start off with less rust than last season.
"I think probably our strongest attribute is our experience because we have so many returning players this year," Kuhles said. "Besides catching, our entire infield is the same as last year. We have played together for a long time, and that will help during the season."
"This year is a little different because we are all upperclassmen," Lopez added. "We've got a lot of experience in the upper-level games -- NESCAC conference and regional games. We all settled in and got really comfortable with each other at the end of last season."
With that experience come more lofty goals. Tufts has been to NCAA Regionals the last three years and has won the NESCAC championship the last two. But the team will be searching for one last goal: a trip to the Div. III World Series.
"First and foremost, the goal is to win the NESCAC for the third time in a row," Kuhles said. "Another goal is to make it past Regionals and into the World Series. We have come so close every year, and because our team has not changed dramatically in terms of starters, I think it is a good expectation of ours to move past Regionals."
