If you're looking for a Tufts sports program with a history of consistency and success, look no further than the men's baseball team.
Coach John Casey has compiled a 450-298-3 record in his 25 seasons with Tufts -- more than twice as many wins as any other Tufts baseball coach -- and his .601 winning percentage also represents the top figure in team history. In addition, the Jumbos have made the NESCAC tournament the past four years and have compiled 20 or more wins in seven of the past nine. And with four different teams winning the NESCAC Championship in the past four years, this year could represent Tufts' turn to hoist the trophy.
"Our goal every year is to win the NESCAC [and] to have a winning season," junior co-captain Alex Perry said. "I think that's the main goal. We want to do what we have to do, then take the next step after NESCAC."
Nevertheless, the Jumbos will have a high level of competition to deal with. Last year, Trinity dominated the NESCAC to the tune of a 12-0 conference record (45-1 overall) and went on to win both the conference and national championships. The Bantams possessed a rare combination of powerful offense and merciless pitching, as they led the league in every important offensive category -- average, runs, home runs and total bases, to name a few -- while their team ERA (1.97) was almost half that of Williams, the next best staff (3.65).
Trinity's offense figures to stay much the same as last year, as it will return junior first baseman Kent Graham, who led the NESCAC in hits, RBIs and total bases last year, and classmate outfielder James Woods, who led the league with 12 home runs. The Bantams also still have one more year from senior catcher Sean Killeen, who hit .378 with seven home runs, and senior infielder Ryan Piacentini, who hit .370 with five dingers.
But while the offense will remain relatively untouched, the pitching staff could not be more different. Although the team will retain junior pitcher Jeremiah Bayer, who compiled a 1.33 ERA in 81 innings last year, it will be without the other three members of its starting rotation. That includes staff ace Tim Kiely, who two years ago pitched a seven-inning perfect game against the Jumbos and last year had an ERA of 1.48 to go along with 107 strikeouts and only three walks in 97 innings of work. After graduating, he was selected by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 27th round of the 2008 MLB first-year player draft.
"Trinity is like any other conference nemesis," Perry said. "We don't look at that series as our main goal for the season; we want to make the playoffs. But we're always excited; it's a big rivalry. We just want to go out and play our best, do what we need to do to beat them, and hopefully everything will work out."
Still, before the Jumbos even start to think about their NESCAC competition, they first must go on a spring break road trip that sees them play 11 games in 10 days against teams that are already in mid-season. Not only that, but their opponents are no slouches; Tufts' very first game will be against Lynchburg, currently ranked No. 24 in the country by the National College Baseball Writers' Association.
"They're important games because, when it comes down to bid for NCAA, they look for overall record and winning percentage as well as how you do in the league," junior infielder Alex Grzymala said. "There [have] been years where we've gone down there and haven't done so well and then come back and come up here and done real well and vice versa. We hit the ground running; the first third of our season is on this trip."
"I think it sets the precedent for how we're going to do, but we treat these games like any other games; there's an expectation of winning," Perry added. "We've done poorly then come back and turned it around and gotten into the playoffs. We're excited to get down there, play some baseball outside, but in terms of how much they mean, of course they mean a lot, but for the most part, we treat them like any other game."
