The softball team has spent much of this season being questioned about just how good it is. This weekend, in a three−game sweep of Colby, the Jumbos yet again had all of the answers.
The Jumbos dominated Colby in the set at Waterville, Maine, clinching their sixth straight NESCAC East title in the process. Tufts took all three games from the Mules, outscoring them 25−4 on the weekend. Along with the title comes a No. 1 seed in next weekend's NESCAC Championships.
"We knew we had a job to do, and we know we have a very strong program," freshman second baseman Emily Beinecke said. "We have tended to let off the gas, and we didn't do that this weekend."
Even after clinching the NESCAC East in the early game Saturday, the Jumbos kept the pressure up for the nightcap. Tufts gave the ball to senior Erin Gallagher, who was making just her third start of the season, while Colby countered with freshman pitcher Lauren Becker.
While the Jumbos had been in firm control all series, it was the Mules who jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning of the second leg of the doubleheader. Four of the first five Colby hitters in the order singled, bringing in a run and loading the bases with one out. But Gallagher settled down, working out of the inning without further harm after inducing a 5−1−3 double play.
The 1−0 line score held until the top of the third, when the Mules gifted the Jumbos the lead. The Jumbos plated four runs, yet got only two hits. Instead, it was a walk and two errors that did most of the damage, leading to three unearned runs.
Meanwhile, Gallagher developed complete control of the Colby bats. After her rocky first inning, she allowed only two more hits and a walk over the next six. The Mules did not manage to get another runner past first base.
The Jumbos, on the other hand, still had a few more runs in them. They extended their lead to 5−1 on a solo shot by senior captain Casey Sullivan in the fifth, her second of the weekend and 10th of the season. They then added two more in the seventh, as Sullivan had a two−out, RBI triple, and then came in to score on a single by Beinecke, extending the lead to the final score of 8−1.
Earlier in the day, Tufts put freshman Rebecca DiBiase in the circle, looking for the division−clinching win. The first−year was up to the task, throwing a complete game shutout, while giving up only five hits and one walk. Colby never managed to get a rally together, and only put a runner in scoring position once, in the bottom of the fifth with two outs.
The Jumbos' lineup, in the meantime, quickly gave DiBiase a sizable lead to work with. With two outs and a runner on second in the top of the first, Tufts strung together four straight hits and a walk and suddenly found itself on top 3−0, a lead which it would ultimately stretch to the final tally of 8−0.
In the series opener Friday night, Tufts relied on its veteran ace, junior Izzie Santone, to get the win. The Jumbos struck early, with Sullivan reaching on a two−out error by the right fielder and coming around to score an unearned run on a hit by Beinecke.
"It's a huge boost," Santone said. "It's easier to go after teams as a pitcher when you know you have the support of runs behind you. Especially in the first inning, knowing you have that advantage is huge."
Over the next four−and−a−half innings, Santone and Colby senior starter Brittany Tasi took turns putting zeros on the scoreboard. The only real threat from either lineup came in the bottom of the fourth. The Mules put two runners on with one out, but Santone calmly worked out of trouble.
In the top of the sixth, the Jumbos finally broke through, once again with some help from the Colby defense. Sophomore outfielder Lizzy Iuppa reached on an error by the pitcher before a single by classmate Lena Cantone and a double by Sullivan brought her around to score. Cantone and Sullivan later scored when Beinecke reached on an error.
Colby finally tacked on an unearned run in the bottom of the frame, but the Jumbos elevated their game in the seventh, exploding for six runs in the inning, including a two−run home run by Sullivan. Even after two more runs from Colby, the Jumbos finished with a comfortable 10−3 victory.
It was a combination of dominant pitching and timely hitting all weekend that earned win after win for the Jumbos. The pitching staff gave up only three earned runs over the three games, earning it a 3−0 record with a 1.00 ERA on the weekend.
"We went after Colby with the same strategy that we are going to go after the teams in the NESCAC Tournament," Santone said. "Hitting our spots, keeping the ball low and keeping them off balance. Definitely trying to make them hit the ball weakly. It's what we did against them and what we hope to do in the future."
Meanwhile, the heart of the Tufts lineup — Cantone, Sullivan and Beinecke — combined to go 19−for−35 with two home runs and 16 RBIs. They were in the middle of every big inning and crucial to the Jumbos' success.
"For most of the season, we have been experimenting with our lineup," Beinecke said. "Just recently, I started batting cleanup, and I feel having Casey and Lena batting before me fires me up. I typically hit better and have a better mentality with people on base. This weekend something just clicked, and I think everyone felt it."
The Jumbos will now be looking ahead to the NESCAC Tournament at Williams next weekend. They will be opening Friday at 5 p.m. against Wesleyan, the NESCAC West's No. 2 seed, which Tufts has yet to face this season. Also joining the Jumbos in the tournament are the Bowdoin Polar Bears and the host Ephs. But with the best record in the conference, Tufts remains the favorite to capture its fourth straight NESCAC Tournament.
"I feel really confident," Santone said. "I feel we have improved a lot as a team since we played Bowdoin, and definitely Williams too. I feel that our experience as a team has made us better, and hopefully we can dominate these teams. We know based on our experience who we need to not pitch too and that we need to play good defense."
