The softball team won four of five games this weekend, but the one loss will sting as the postseason approaches. One day after freshman pitcher Allyson Fournier tossed her second perfect game in the span of 10 days, the No. 11 Jumbos got a taste of their own medicine on Sunday, when Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) senior hurler Molly Rathbun stifled a potent Tufts offense en route to a perfect game of her own.
Heading into the final game of the weekend, the Jumbos knew they would have their hands full against the national No. 3 Warriors. After handing ECSU its first and only loss of the season earlier this year during the Clermont Spring Games in Florida, the Jumbos knew the Warriors would have revenge on their minds. And they played like it on Sunday.
Entering the contest, Rathbun had compiled a 15?1 record and a miniscule 0.41 ERA. And the senior All?American continued the trend, blanking a Tufts offense that has been feasting on opposing pitchers for the past three weeks.
Rathbun, who is also second in team batting average (.453), drove in three of the four runs for the Warriors, including a solo shot in the top half of the first inning.
"Going into the game we knew that she was one of the best pitchers in the country," junior Rebecca DiBiase said. "We needed to get runners on base to rattle her, but we couldn't do that. We need to go up attacking right from the first pitch and put the ball in play more."
Rathbun's efforts overshadowed solid efforts from DiBiase and sophomore Lauren Giglio, who combined to hold one of the best teams in the country to just four runs. After Giglio pitched the first, DiBiase was strong in relief, tossing six innings while holding the Warriors to just three runs the rest of the way.
The loss put an end to the Jumbos' 12?game winning streak and marked their first loss since they returned from Florida.
Despite Sunday's disappointing loss, it was a positive weekend for the Jumbos, who won the NESCAC games they needed. Tufts traveled to Colby for a three?game set Friday and Saturday and came out on top in all three, maintaining their undefeated record in conference play.
The Jumbos jumped out to an early lead in the series opener, as three straight singles in the top half of the second by sophomore Jo Clair, junior Emily Beinecke and freshman Kris Parr gave them a 2?0 advantage.
Meanwhile, DiBiase was strong on the mound, hurling a complete game eight?hitter and allowing just one earned run. The most promising opportunity for the Mules came in the fifth inning when, trailing 3?0, they loaded the bases with just one out. Sophomore Brianne Wheeler crushed a pitch off the left field wall, coming within feet of giving the Mules a 4?3 lead.
Instead, the ball fell back onto the field of play, and the Jumbos were able to throw out junior Lauren Becker at the plate to preserve a 3?1 advantage. Colby cut it to 3?2 but came no closer, and the Mules ultimately fell 5?2 after a two?run double in the seventh from Beinecke.
Fournier took the mound in the second game of the series and picked up right where she left off the week before. The freshman phenom not only blanked the Mules en route to her second perfect game in just nine days, but, in a display of utter dominance, recorded 16 of the 21 outs via strikeout. She lowered her ERA to 0.50 on the year and improved to 11?0. She has also amassed 120 strikeouts on the year, just 20 short of the school's single?season record.
Clair blasted a two?run double in the game, providing all the offense the Jumbos would need.
"Allyson has performed up to all expectations thus far," Clair said. "She's hitting her spots, and when she does that she's very hard to hit."
The second game of the doubleheader took extra innings to decide. After pitching a perfect game just hours earlier, Fournier came on in relief with no outs and runners on second and third in a 3?3 game in the seventh inning. She struck out the first batter and then induced a double?play lineout, sending the game to extra innings.
Over the next four innings, Fournier fanned seven more hitters, increasing her strikeout total on the day to a whopping 23 Mules batters.
In the top of the 11th, sophomore Chrissie Massrey led off with a single, and senior pinch?runner Katherine Darveau finally gave Tufts the lead, coming around to score on a throwing error.
Clair launched a two?run homer in the fifth, her sixth of the season.
With the series sweep, the Jumbos clinched one of the NESCAC East Division's two berths in the upcoming conference championship. They have a magic number of two to clinch the East's top seed.
Before falling victim to Rathbun in Sunday's fifth and final weekend contest, the Jumbos handled the Wellesley Blue with ease, cruising to a 7?1 victory behind a solid effort from DiBiase and Giglio, who combined to allow just one run on four hits over seven innings.
Despite the loss to Eastern Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon, Tufts improved to 23?4 on the year over the weekend and, more importantly, remained unbeaten in the NESCAC.
Though their winning streak was snapped, the Jumbos are ready to turn the page, starting Wednesday when they take on Bridgewater State at Spicer Field.
"That loss doesn't put a damper on our season," DiBiase said. "But it does give us reason to light a new fire."
