Last year, the softball team graduated eight seniors, including seven everyday players and one of its two starting pitchers. But the Jumbos refused to write this season off as a rebuilding year, and despite an early exit from the NESCAC Tournament, they still earned a NESCAC East regular-season crown and have a lot to look forward to in the years to come.
"We had a great season," rising sophomore pitcher Rebecca DiBiase said. "I feel like the harder moments made the wins even better. Although the ending was disappointing, we definitely came a long way as a team, and I feel by the end we had all learned and improved a lot."
The season ended with a disappointing NESCAC Tournament for the Jumbos. In an elimination game against the Williams Ephs, Tufts ended up the victim of some unlucky weather. Holding a 4-0 lead after five innings with the help of dominant pitching from rising senior Izzie Santone, the game was delayed due to lightning. Santone did not have the same stuff when play picked up again, and an eight-run sixth for the Ephs ended the Jumbos' season.
Tufts also struggled in the tournament opener the previous day, giving up six runs to Wesleyan in the top of the first inning. Though the Jumbos got three runs back in the bottom of the inning, another six in the top of the third put the game out of reach, and they eventually fell 13-3.
The early exit from the NESCACs did little to discount the strong play of the young Jumbos squad, which managed to finish the regular season first in the NESCAC East for the sixth straight year with a record of 10-2.
"We were disappointed that we didn't come away with the NESCAC title," graduating senior captain Casey Sullivan said. "But I was proud of the way we fought in games during the regular season."
After dropping the first game of their regular-season conference campaign to Bowdoin, the Jumbos responded by winning the next five straight. They then dropped a game to Trinity, putting Tufts into a must-win situation for the next two. The senior leaders responded, with Sullivan hitting a walk-off home run in the first game and fellow graduating senior Stefanie Tong's two-run shot giving them the 2-1 win in the rubber match. An easy sweep of Colby a week later was enough to seal up the title.
Boasting one of the best offenses in the NESCAC, the Jumbos were led by Sullivan, who was tops in the conference in home runs (10), runs scored (41) and slugging percentage (.832). Whenever the Jumbos needed someone to get on base, Sullivan found a way, and she produced with her feet as well, stealing a team-high 18 bases. The fourth-year concluded an historic career at Tufts by snatching NESCAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Flanking Sullivan in the lineup were two players who will help form the core of this team for years to come: rising junior Lena Cantone and rising sophomore Emily Beinecke. Cantone hit .325 on the season and made the most of her time on base, scoring 23 times on 38 hits. That was largely thanks to Beinecke, who got off to an impressive start on the team's early-season trip to California and never looked back. She eventually moved up to the cleanup spot and hit a NESCAC-best .467 for the season while also leading Tufts with 30 RBIs.
"They are both great hitters, and they both get timely hits," Sullivan said. "I loved hitting in between them this year, and I expect both of them to have very productive futures with the team."
But the heart of the lineup would not have been complete without Tong, who switched from pitching to hitting this season and never missed a beat, becoming an essential cog in the Tufts lineup. Tong hit .347 and tied for second on the team with four home runs, including the aforementioned series-winner against Trinity.
"We really needed [Tong] this year, and she came up big," Sullivan said. "Her bat came alive this season, and it was very important to a lot of our wins."
While the hitting did a lot of the work, the Jumbos would not have done nearly as well as they did without the development of their young pitching staff. After a rocky California stint, Santone, DiBiase and rising sophomore Aly Moskowitz were lights out. In conference games, the Jumbos combined to go 10-2 with a 1.52 ERA as a team, by far the best in the NESCAC.
"Pitching in college is a lot different than pitching in high school, so Aly and I had to learn to throw our moving pitches effectively," DiBiase said. "You have to learn to work the corners and [work] different umpires' strike zones. The learning curve was probably what caused us to improve later in the season."
Santone played the role of Houdini all season, working the team out of countless jams, while DiBiase preferred to overpower hitters, striking out 40 while only walking 12. Moskowitz had the fewest games pitched but also the most dominant numbers, going 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA on the year. DiBiase and Moskowitz both have three more years with the Jumbos, a scary prospect for NESCAC hitters.
"[In the college game], there is definitely significantly less room for error; one bad pitch can lose you a game," DiBiase said. "In the offseason, I need to focus not on my speed but on finding effective spots on the plate to throw to."
The Jumbos are graduating only three players at the end of the season: Sullivan, Tong and senior pitcher Erin Gallagher. Sullivan was a four-year starter for the team and slugged 31 career home runs while driving in 135 RBIs, never hitting below .300 for the season.
While the offensive production will be greatly missed, the Jumbos have a lot to look forward to in the years to come. Cantone and Beinecke both have multiple years left with the Jumbos, along with rising junior outfielder Lizzy Iuppa, who spent much of the season in the leadoff spot. They will also have the senior leadership of catcher Julia Silberman, a definite boon to the young pitching staff. There is little reason to doubt that next year will be another successful one for the Jumbos, as they look to secure their seventh straight NESCAC East title.
"Work hard," said Sullivan, when asked to give some final words of advice to her squad. "Games are won before they are played in preparation. I see a lot of promise in this team, and it is just about working harder and getting better and wanting it more."
