This weekend, the baseball team will travel to Lewiston, Maine for three games against Bates, which currently sits at 11-4 overall after a strong showing in its early-season non-conference matchups. The Jumbos also enter the weekend with momentum after going 7-3 during their grueling spring break trip to Virginia and North Carolina.
The NESCAC weekend series, which will feature one game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday, is the first of the season for both the Bobcats and Jumbos. Tufts got off to a strong start in conference play against Bates last year, sweeping the set when the two teams met at the beginning of April. Ultimately, the Jumbos finished first in the NESCAC East Division last season with an 11-1 conference record and won the 2011 NESCAC Championship, while the Bobcats went 5-7 against league opponents.
In the first game of last year's series, Bates' offense was stymied by then-junior Kevin Gilchrist, who tossed a complete-game shutout. The Jumbos scored four times in the fourth inning and added another insurance run in the fifth to best the Bobcats, 5-0.
The next day, Tufts won both ends of a doubleheader by just one run. In the latter game, the Bobcats plated two runs in the first inning but were held scoreless after that. Tufts then scored once in the second, seventh and ninth innings to eke out a victory and earn the series sweep.
This year, the Bobcats are led offensively by sophomore infielder GriffTewksbury, who is hitting .415 and has already slugged two home runs. Outfielder Nate Pajka has also made a big impact in his freshman season, starting 12 games and leading the team in home runs and RBIs with five and 17, respectively, to date.
The Jumbos last played on March 25, when they wrapped up their spring trip with an 18-3 thrashing of Virginia Wesleyan. The pitching staff, led by its top three starters - Gilchrist, senior Dave Ryan and sophomore Christian Sbily - should be fresh and ready to go this weekend after four days of badly needed rest.
