Having started the month with three-straight losses, the beginning of April was pretty dreary for the softball team. But the Jumbos have turned things around and are currently riding a four-game winning streak, highlighted by a three-game sweep of NESCAC East rival Bowdoin this weekend, in which Tufts outscored its opponent 24-2.
The softball team thought it had righted the ship after sweeping a doubleheader Monday at Bridgewater State, ending a skid that saw the team lose three games in a row and four of five overall.
After beating the Williams Ephs 14-0 two weeks ago, the softball team must have been confident heading into its next meeting with its in-state NESCAC rival.
The team that showed up to Spicer Field yesterday afternoon was not the one that posted a .376 batting average, .432 on-base percentage and .514 slugging percentage during the first 12 games of the season.
Home was not quite so sweet to the Jumbos this weekend.
Having already completed a third of its schedule, the softball team will finally set foot on its home turf this afternoon, locking horns with Bates for a three-game series starting this afternoon.
When the softball team set out for its 12-game seven-day West Coast swing, it was just hoping to emerge with a record above .500.
The softball team certainly isn't interested in slowly easing into the 2007 campaign.
When the 2006 softball season got underway, one question hung heavy over Spicer Field: could the Jumbos continue their national and regional dominance in the manner of the 2005 squad, which rocked opposing teams with a deadly middle of the lineup and overwhelming power hitting.
It was deja vu all over again for the Tufts softball team.
Sophomore slump? Hah.
With the NESCAC East crown already wrapped up, the softball team played two doubleheaders this weekend against non-conference opponent Endicott College on Friday and NESCAC rival Colby on Saturday.
For all the youth on the 2006 softball roster, this time it was the team's veteran core of upperclassmen, shining on Senior Day, that led the Jumbos to the top.
The softball team took a pair of midweek non-conference games this week, beating Brandeis 4-2 on Wednesday and MIT on Tuesday, 3-1, and cracking the 20-win mark for the 12th time in the past 13 years.
Bates may not have been the softball team's toughest opponent this season, but with solid hitting, lights-out pitching and improved defense, the Jumbos refused to play down to the level of the 6-6 Bobcats and came away from Lewiston with two key NESCAC East wins on Saturday.
When the softball season kicked off two months ago, a cloud of questions surrounded the 2006 squad.
When the softball team starts putting their best hitting together with their best fielding, the Jumbos might truly be a sight to see.
Although the weekend concluded with a snapped 11-game win streak, as some sloppy play and quiet bats finally caught up with the Jumbos, the softball team is actually in a good place right now.
The softball team has played just well enough to win during its eight-game winning streak since returning from California. Key defensive stops, solid pitching and timely hitting masked defensive sloppiness and unpredictability down the lineup.
Tufts sophomore Danielle Lopez must dream about fastballs from Bridgewater State senior Kaitlyn Gambino.
