After a 4?0 weekend that included a three?game sweep of conference rival Bates, the No. 9 softball team, which owns a perfect 12?0 record in the NESCAC, has clinched the first seed in the NESCAC East division.
Propelled by sophomore Lauren Giglio's no?hitter on Friday to lock up first place, and freshman Allyson Fournier's continued excellence, the Tufts pitching staff allowed just 10 runs over the four games.
"The pitchers do a lot of live practice [during off days], which is really good for them," sophomore catcher Jo Clair said of her pitching staff. "They throw to us as batters, and I think using an offense as potent as ours as your practice, and then going in and facing offenses that maybe aren't as potent as us, is what is really contributing to their success. They are learning how to get hitters out like us, and they're translating what they do in practice to what they are doing in games."
On Sunday, the Jumbos banged 10 hits on their way to a 10?5 non?conference victory over the Brandeis Judges. Junior right?hander Rebecca DiBiase, who is second on the team with 10 wins, pitched a complete game in the win.
Entering the top of the fourth inning with a 3?0 lead, Clair blasted a three?run homer over the center field wall that plated freshman rightfielder Gracie Marshall and senior centerfielder Lizzy Iuppa. The Jumbos would go on to score two apiece in the fifth and sixth to win by a final score of 10?5.
Clair, the NESCAC leader in home runs with eight, finished the game with three hits and three RBIs to raise her batting average to .463. Senior tri?captain first baseman Lena Cantone, the reigning NESCAC Player of the Year, chipped in with two hits and two runs scored.
Despite boasting one of the best offenses in the conference, the Jumbos struggled to get going early on in Friday's doubleheader against the Bobcats. In the opener, Tufts managed just two runs off Bates senior starter Kristen Finn.
"Our offense was a little slow in the first few games," Clair said. "It got better as the weekend went on and the offense is picking it up slowly, which is good because I think we've been in a little bit of a hitting slump. So it's good to see the offense coming back around just in time, right in front of NESCACs and regionals."
The lone RBI of the contest came off Clair's bat on a fielder's choice in the third inning, scoring sophomore left fielder Sara Hedtler. Cantone scored the game's final run on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.
The story of the game, however, was Giglio's performance on the mound. In her seventh start of the season, Giglio threw a no?hitter against a Bates squad that is hitting .339 this spring. The sophomore struck out 11 and improved to 4?1 on the season.
"I think that progressively through the season, [Lauren] has been gaining confidence," Cantone said. "She has the speed, she has the movement and now she's hitting her spots like she did on Friday. It's nice that we can rely on other people than Allyson. It goes to show [that] not only do we have depth in our batting order, but in the pitching rotation, too."
In game two, the duo of Fournier and DiBiase combined to shut out the Bobcats, surrendering just four hits and three walks in the contest. Fournier, who leads the NESCAC with a 0.42 ERA and 149 strikeouts, fanned eight of the 14 batters she faced.
Fournier now holds Tufts' all?time single?season strikeout record, surpassing Jodie Moreau (LA '02), who had 140 whiffs during her senior year. Not only has Fournier broken the record as a freshman, but she has done it with eight regular season games remaining.
Tufts' offense got off to a hot start in the second game of the series, scoring five runs on seven hits in the first three innings. Cantone led the attack with three hits and two RBIs, while Hedtler and junior second baseman Emily Beinecke each recorded two hits and scored a run.
The Jumbos are now 28?4 overall and have won their last five games. With just six games left in the regular season, they are starting to set their sights on the larger task at hand.
"I think overall we are looking to come out every day like we are one of the best teams in the country, whether it's in practice or a game," Cantone said. "If we want to be a championship team, we need to have the mentality that we are one. We need to come out with that intensity every game. When we do get to the conference tournament and hopefully regionals, we will have that same intensity that can match any team in the country."