The baseball team headed north to Brunswick, Maine over the weekend looking to secure its first NESCAC East division title since 2007. By taking two out of three from Bowdoin (21−10 overall, 4−5 NESCAC East), the Jumbos (21−4 overall, 9−2 NESCAC East) have accomplished their goal.
Tufts clinched home−field advantage throughout the NESCAC Tournament after taking the first two slates of the three−game series. In the second and deciding game, junior starter Derek Miller struggled with his command early on, enabling Bowdoin to take a 2−0 lead after the first inning. But the southpaw settled in quickly, and the offense picked him up.
Freshman starter Oliver Van Zant got off to a brilliant start for the Polar Bears, retiring the first six Jumbos he faced, including four strikeouts. But the first−year beat himself in the third inning, hitting sophomore first baseman Matt Collins with a pitch, and then walking senior tri−captain Alex Perry. Junior tri−captain David LeResche and classmate Ian Goldberg subsequently drew two more free passes, the latter of which plated Collins for Tufts' first run of the day. A sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Sam Sager knotted the game at 2−2.
The Jumbos raced ahead in the fourth inning, chasing Van Zant from the game and taking advantage of a costly error by Bowdoin's junior centerfielder Brendan Garner. Junior outfielder David Orlowitz hit an RBI double to give Tufts the lead, and later in the inning, an RBI groundout by junior second baseman Frank Petroskey and a run−scoring single by LeResche gave the Jumbos some helpful insurance.
But Bowdoin fought back in the bottom of the sixth against Miller, forcing Tufts coach John Casey to turn to his bullpen. Sophomore Jake Crawford could not escape the jam, allowing two hits, including the game−tying single by junior right fielder Joe Comizio. Junior Ed Bernstein was called on to put out the fire, and he induced a pair of harmless groundouts to end the inning.
Tufts immediately regained the lead on a pair of doubles to start the sixth, the first by Perry leading off the inning and the second by Petroskey, eventually bringing Perry home with the game−winning run. Petroskey later came around to score, giving Bernstein an extra run to work with in the late innings.
Bernstein would not need it. He faced just seven batters over the final two innings, working around a pair of walks by coaxing a double−play ball from junior Adam Marquit. The phenomenal effort extended Bernstein's scoreless streak to 17.1 innings this season, as the righty improved to 2−0 by preserving the 7−5 victory.
"Eddie came in and was unbelievable for us at the end of the game," Perry said. "He's been great all season and kept it up and helped us lock up the game and the series."
"It's great pitching for this team, because you know they're going to make the plays behind you and they hit the ball," Bernstein added. "It felt good to be out there when we clinched the division, and I've just gone out there all season knowing that if I throw strikes, the team will pick me up."
The Jumbos rode another outstanding pitching performance to victory in Friday afternoon's opener, as sophomore Kevin Gilchrist kept the Polar Bears' offense at bay.
Tufts staked Gilchrist to a 4−0 lead in the top of the first. LeResche and Goldberg fueled the rally by knocking a pair of singles to start the frame. LeResche came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Sager, and Goldberg crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Juniors Chase Rose and Orlowitz drew walks and scored on a single to right by Collins. The ball appeared to have been caught by Comizio but was ruled a base−hit by the umpire, giving Tufts a 4−0 lead.
It was more than Gilchrist would need. The lefty hurled a complete game, one−hit shutout, walking five and whiffing five en route to his third win of the season. Gilchrist kept the Polar Bears off balance, and the fielders helped his cause by turning three double plays.
"I just went out there thinking about throwing strikes," Gilchrist said. "I was using my two−seamer to get guys to roll over and hit ground balls, and everything else took care of itself. Our defense did a great job for me."
Sophomore Tim Welch took the loss for Bowdoin. He was on the mound for all of Tufts' runs, which included four in the first inning as well as another in the fifth, when Petroskey singled home Collins to extend Tufts' lead to 5−0. That score would hold for the remainder of the game.
Saturday's series finale put a bit of a damper on an otherwise successful weekend, as the Jumbos came out flat, and the Polar Bears took advantage. Sophomore starting pitcher Dave Ryan allowed four runs — three earned — on two hits and four walks in just 2.1 innings, and Tufts could not recover from the early hole.
The Polar Bears, determined to avoid a sweep, sent senior Carter Butland to the mound, and he shut down the Tufts offense, surrendering only three unearned runs over eight innings of work in a 12−4 Bowdoin win. Butland's fine outing snapped the Jumbos' 11−game winning streak, while also putting an end to Bowdoin's five−game skid.
"The last game of the weekend was kind of a letdown," Perry said. "We really didn't come to play."
Overall, the Jumbos were pleased with their performance and thrilled to have clinched the division, which means May baseball at Huskins Field. But the team knows that there's plenty of work still to be done.
"We went up there and accomplished [what] we needed," Perry said. "It was good to get the first two and get that out of the way. We pitched great, played good defense, and we just have to keep doing that. It's an awesome honor to win the division and host the tournament, but there are a lot of games to go."
The Jumbos have a busy week ahead, with seven games on six days. Tufts will host Eastern Connecticut today at 3 p.m. and Newbury College at the same time on Wednesday. NESCAC rival Trinity will come to Huskins Field on Thursday to make up a contest that was rained out earlier in the season. And, over the weekend, the Jumbos will travel to Springfield for a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday, before welcoming NESCAC West foe Middlebury in a twinbill at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
At 21−4, Tufts has a very realistic chance of breaking the school record for wins (27), which was previously set in 2002, provided that the Jumbos stay focused in the upcoming days.
"You never know which game someone's going to break out, or when someone's going to get into a slump," Bernstein said. "So we've got to take every one of these games seriously, play them one at a time, and make sure we stay strong the rest of the season."
