Following a strong showing on an 11?game spring break and a win in its home opener against Mass. Maritime, the Tufts baseball team was eager to begin its 2013 NESCAC schedule against Bates. But despite the momentum they brought into the series from that first home game, the Jumbos lost two of three games against the Bobcats, as they struggled with the same inconsistent offensive play that has plagued them for much of the season.
In the series opener on Friday afternoon, Bates junior lefthander Tom Baroni threw a complete?game shutout against the Jumbos, limiting the Jumbos to five hits through nine innings.
Baroni did a phenomenal job pounding the strike zone right from the start, giving up no walks while striking out four batters. Jumbo starter junior tri?captain Christian Sbily also put together an impressive performance, allowing two earned runs over 7.1 innings with seven strikeouts, but the Jumbos were unable to break through on the offensive end.
"I did a good job of establishing my fastball, especially on the outer half," Sbily said. "I knew Bates wasn't a great fastball hitting team, especially on the outside, so I did a good job of establishing my fastball for a strike on the outside corner. My off?speed pitches were also working well, especially my changeup."
His outing, however, was not enough to outduel the dominant Baroni.
"[Baroni] was throwing in the zone with fastball [and] changeup, mostly," senior shortstop Scott Staniewicz said. "We didn't have any walks, so he was in the zone the whole game."
Game one of Saturday's double?header was a different story for the Jumbos, as they took an impressive 5?1 victory. Sophomore lefthander Kyle Slinger allowed one earned run over six and two?thirds innings, and the offense benefited from a series of untimely errors by their opponents.
As has been the case in several of the Jumbos' wins this season, it was the speedy Staniewicz who ignited the their offense attack. Following two scoreless innings, the senior laced a two?out double down the left field and was knocked in by centerfielder Connor McDavitt's triple on the next at?bat to give Coach John Casey's squad a 1?0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Tufts was able to break the game open with the help of three Bates errors. Sophomore third baseman Wade Hauser led off the frame with a single up the middle and advanced to second after an error from Bates center fielder Samuel Warren. With one out following a walk by junior second baseman Tim Mitropoulos, Stanciewicz wreaked havoc again, reaching third base on a three?base error by Bobcats pitcher Brad Reynolds, scoring both Hauser and Mitropoulos.
"We obviously were upset after the Friday game, and, in our minds, we go into the weekend thinking we should take three games. So we were really fired up Saturday morning," Sbily said of the offense's resurgence on Saturday. "Offensively, we were really aggressive. We made the defense make plays, we did a good job of doing jobs at the plate and being strong situationally."
But the Jumbos were unable to repeat their strong performance in the rubber match, falling 5?3. After surrendering four runs in the first two innings, the Jumbos managed just three hits in the following seven frames before nearly coming from behind to win in the bottom of the ninth.
With one out and runners on second and third in their final at?bat, Hauser roped a double down the right field line to knock in two runners and cut the deficit to two. Freshman designated hitter Mike Barry followed with a single, and then sophomore catcher Bryan Egan drew a walk to load the bases. Tufts was unable to send it to extra innings, however, as pinch hitter Carter Bidwick and McDavitt both flew out to right field to end the game.
While the Jumbos were disappointed after coming up short in their first NESCAC series, Sbily acknowledged there were lessons to be learned after the weekend.
"I think the biggest lesson is that this league, this year, is going to be a dog fight," he said. "While we like to focus on us and what we are doing, you can't help but see that Trinity and Bowdoin beat each other up this weekend as well. So, while we were disappointed to drop two games, we know that we are going to have our chance, and we know that no matter what, this league has to come through Medford and that we control our destiny."
The Jumbos, now 8?7, will face off in a non?league matchup against Brandeis Tuesday afternoon.
