On the heels of an impressive spring break, Tufts began conference play with three games against Bates College over the weekend. The juggernaut Jumbos swept the Bobcats in a lopsided series highlighted by offensive fireworks, strong pitching performances and rock?solid defense.
Tufts opened the series with an 8?0 rout of Bates on Friday. Senior starting pitcher Rebecca DiBiase delivered a five hit shutout, blanking the Bobcats over five stellar innings. The Jumbos scored eight runs behind her, three of which came on one swing of the bat when freshman Christina Raso ripped a home run in the bottom of the second inning. Raso'sdinger plated sophomores Gracie Marshall and Bri Keenan to break the game open.
On Saturday the Jumbos picked up where they left off, winning both games of the doubleheader by scores of 8?4 and 9?0. The Jumbos flexed their power muscles in the first game, clubbing five home runs to bury the Bobcats. Michelle Cooprider, Jo Clair, Emily Beinecke, Kris Parr, and Abby Curran all went deep to back AlyMoskowitz, who improved her record to 5?0 with six solid innings.
Tufts concluded the weekend on a high note with a 9?0 victory. The Jumbos scored three times in each of the first three innings, lending more than enough run support to Allyson Fournier, who fired a no?hitter and struck out 11 Bobcats in the process. Fournier's no?no was the fourth of her collegiate career and would have been a perfect game were it not for a Tufts fielding error that allowed Bates' leadoff hitter Mary Lewis to reach base.
Fournier was impressed but hardly surprised with the Jumbos' explosive lineup after watching her teammates feast off the Bobcats' pitching. She expects them to keep swinging hot bats as the season progresses.
"I feel very confident in our offense because everybody in the lineup will get the job done when they are at the plate," she said. "As a pitcher, I trust that the offense can score enough runs off of anyone we face to win the game."
Head Coach Cheryl Milligan also praised her team's run production but believes there's still work to be done in other areas. "We played well but still have a lot of work to do on all aspects of our game, especially baserunning and defense," she said.
"We have a very strong team but our season from here out will largely rest on committing to the little things that make a good team great."
Milligan and the rest of the Jumbos remain dedicated to improving, even with their 16?1 record just a couple of weeks into the season. Tufts will take a 15?game winning streak into Tuesday's doubleheader at Babson.
