Coming off an impressive sweep of NESCAC rival Trinity over the weekend, the baseball team had no desire to let non-conference foe UMass Dartmouth take away its momentum on Monday. But the Jumbos (19-3 overall, 7-1 NESCAC East) did not need to worry, as they rolled right over the Corsairs (14-11) and extended their winning streak to nine games.
Tufts dominated UMass Dartmouth in all phases of the doubleheader, using a combined 36-hit attack to triple-up the Corsairs on the scoreboard, 27-9.
In the nightcap, the Jumbos pulled off the impressive feat of scoring in every inning they came to bat, coming through with a 10-6 win. The Corsairs plated two runs in the top of the first against senior starting pitcher Tom Hill, but Tufts countered with three in the bottom of the frame, helping Hill improve to 4-0 on the season. Junior tri-captain David LeResche led off with a double and came around to score on an RBI single by junior outfielder Ian Goldberg. The inning was capped off by a solo home run from junior outfielder David Orlowitz, who leads the team with four long-balls on the year.
The Jumbos kept pounding out hits in the second inning, as senior tri-captain Corey Pontes got things going with a single and sophomore catcher Matt Collins drove him in with his second homer of the season. UMass Dartmouth's starter, freshman Brandon Borges, lasted just three innings and allowed seven runs on 11 hits and two walks, falling to 1-1. By the time the Corsairs scored another pair of runs in the fourth, the Jumbos were still comfortably ahead 7-4.
And things wouldn't change the rest of the way, as Tufts kept piling on while UMass Dartmouth simply couldn't keep up. Goldberg paced the offense by going 3-for-4, while Collins had three RBIs in the 10-6 win.
"I was just focused on trying to have good at-bats and contribute to the team in any way," Collins said. "I think we wanted to keep building off our wins over Trinity by having good approaches at the plate, making them throw a lot of pitches and driving the ball the other way."
That same game plan paid dividends earlier in the day too, as the Jumbos routed the Corsairs in the opener 17-3. The teams were scoreless after one, but Tufts rocketed ahead with 10 runs in the second, during which 16 hitters came to bat, 11 consecutive hitters reached base, and nine of the runs scored with two outs.
Orlowitz kicked off his two-homer day with a three-run shot, and junior outfielder Chase Rose plated three on a double with the bases loaded, as the pair of outfielders accounted for six of the 10 runs in the inning.
Freshman starter Mike St. Martin took the loss for the Corsairs, and was charged with nine of the 10 runs, along with eight hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. St. Martin dropped to 2-2 on the season. Tufts sophomore starting pitcher Dave Ryan struggled with his command and didn't last much longer than St. Martin, giving up two runs on five hits, two walks and a hit-batsman in just 2.1 innings of work.
But freshman reliever Alex Cronkite had Ryan's back, inducing a 4-6-3 double play to escape a bases-loaded jam and allowing just one more run over the remainder of the game. Cronkite pitched 4.2 innings out of the bullpen, did not walk a batter and coughed up just four hits, although one of them was a solo home run by junior catcher Matt Ryan. Most impressively, Cronkite got nine outs on groundballs, compared to just one in the air, as he improved to 2-0.
The offense, meanwhile, produced a run in both the third and fourth before breaking out for five more in the fifth. Orlowitz started the rally with a leadoff double, Collins kept it going with a two-run shot, and Rose contributed a run-scoring single to put the finishing touches on a 4-for-5 effort with five RBIs. All of that was icing on the cake, as the Jumbos earned a 17-3 victory.
Tufts heads into this weekend's series against Bowdoin sitting atop the NESCAC standings with 15 wins in its past 16 games. But the Jumbos still aren't satisfied.
"A nine-game win streak, 15 wins in 16 games — all of that is not something we're really focused on," Collins said. "We don't really think about our past games. We're more concerned with improving as a team and working hard on a daily basis."
Still, the momentum will undeniably be on the Jumbos' side when they take the field in Brunswick, Maine on Friday at 3 p.m., as the Polar Bears (20-8 overall, 3-3 NESCAC East) have lost their last three games and were swept in a doubleheader by Colby last Sunday. But that's not to say that Tufts will take its opposition lightly.
"Before the season, Bowdoin and Trinity were picked to finish one-two in the NESCAC, and that's really motivated us throughout the season," Goldberg said. "We have a lot to prove; we're playing for home-field advantage, so this is a big series for us."
And the Jumbos are confident that the relentless offense they've shown in recent contests will lead to success.
"We've been hitting the ball great lately," Goldberg said. "I think as a team we're having great at-bats and jumping on teams early. I can't speak for the pitchers, but I think pitching with a big lead is definitely easier. So, I'd say we just need to keep doing what we're doing."
