Coming off a doubleheader Friday, Tufts softball split another doubleheader with Colby, winning the first game 8–4 in 10 innings and dropping the second game 1–4, putting its overall record at 17–5.
The Jumbos traveled to Waterville, Maine for games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m for their third of four consecutive NESCAC matchups. After the weekend, they sit third in the conference with a record of 6–2.
“Our team strives to approach every game with the same intensity,” junior catcher Heaven Oliva wrote in a message to the Daily. “Going into NESCAC play and coming off … last year, we knew we had a target on our backs and everyone was going to give us their best game.”
The leadoff duo of senior infielder Haley Leimbach and Oliva had standout performances, logging nine hits, three RBIs and a walk between the pair during the 1 p.m. game.
Oliva got straight to work with a walk in the top of the first, then stole second on a wild pitch. She scored on a dropped fly ball put into play by senior utility player Kaitlyn Perucci, giving first-year pitcher Avery Kanouse a one-run lead.
Kanouse was all business to start, with two three-up, three-down innings.
A homerun to right-center by Leimbach gave the Jumbos an insurance run, though Kanouse did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, when the Mules loaded the bases on three singles.
She struggled in the fifth, allowing a triple to the Mules’ shortstop which was then converted to a run on a single up the middle. Another single put runners on first and second, setting up a home run to center field that put the Mules up, 4–2.
The Jumbos backed their pitchers in the top of the sixth, starting with a leadoff single to right field by first-year shortstop Paige Murphy. Senior utility player Lauryn Horita also singled to advance Murphy, setting up first-year third baseman Mack Seibel to single up the middle and score Murphy. Another single by Ella McHugh scored Horita and tied the game.
With first-year pitcher Francesca Colangelo relieving Kanouse, the game became a pitchers’ duel. Colangelo allowed just two hits through four innings, and the offense recorded only one hit through the ninth — a single by Oliva.
Oliva capitalized on a first-pitch home run to left field, driving in two RBIs with the extra-inning runner on second. Building on the momentum, Murphy and Perucci followed with a pair of doubles, the latter of which scored Murphy. Sophomore utility player Cat Kawabe scored Perucci on a sacrifice fly, giving Colangelo four insurance runs to secure the win, which she closed out in three quick outs.
The Jumbos returned to the diamond shortly after for the second game of the day, with first-year pitcher Sarah Brody taking the mound.
Leimbach and Oliva each recorded a hit in the first to put Leimbach on third base and Oliva on second. Murphy then reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Leimbach. The Jumbos’ rally ended shortly after Murphy was caught stealing second and Oliva was thrown out at home.
The Mules got to Brody right away with a leadoff single and two groundouts that advanced the lead runner to third. A double then put the Mules on the board, followed by a two-run home run to right-center field to make it 3–1.
Brody allowed another double in the second inning. In the third inning, Leimbach singled again and a fielder’s choice by Oliva advanced McHugh to third, but the Jumbos could not convert it into a run.
In the fourth inning, Brody recorded her first strikeout of the day. The Jumbos continued to struggle, as even the top of the lineup could not get runners on base.
The Mules surged again in the sixth with a leadoff double that ended Brody’s outing. Colangelo came in but gave up a single to left field that extended Colby’s lead. The Jumbos struggled again in the seventh, taking the loss.
Colangelo finished the day with six innings pitched, allowing just three hits and a walk across the two games. Oliva and Leimbach led the offense, though the Jumbos did not display their typical dominance in Waterville.
In the next stretch of NESCAC play, the Jumbos will travel to Amherst College on Saturday for a doubleheader, then face Trinity College in a pair of afternoon games at home Sunday. They sit third in the NESCAC, behind Middlebury and Williams.
