The women's softball team improved its season record to 10-7-1 and began NESCAC play in perfect form on Saturday, taking both games of a doubleheader from Bates by scores of 7-1 and 5-1. Combining power from the offensive side and stellar pitching and defense, the Jumbos rolled over a respectable Bobcat team (7-10).
With junior ace Jodie Moreau on the mound, the Jumbos rarely need much offensive support, and Saturday was no exception. Moreau allowed just four hits, walking none, and fanned seven batters as she improved to 5-3 on the season.
"It was a pretty smooth game," Moreau said. "There weren't any errors made. We were strong both offensively and defensively. We got everything done that we needed to."
On the offensive side of the plate, five of the seven Jumbo runs came via the long ball. Junior first baseman Tiffany Trahan hit a solo shot, her second of the season, in the third inning. Trahan, a lefty, actually pounded the ball off of the scoreboard in right field, a feat she had been joking about before the game.
"When we were stretching before the game, I pointed at the scoreboard and said 'I'm taking that down,'" Trahan said.
"We've been waiting for someone to hit a ball off the scoreboard," Moreau said. "Tiffany actually called that shot, which is really weird."
Sophomore Jenica Spogen nailed a three-run drive over the wall later in the inning, boosting the Tufts lead to 6-0. Senior co-captain Randee McArdle added a solo shot in the fifth inning, her first of the year.
With nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard through five innings, the Bobcats' offense woke up briefly, as junior Sarah Huffman drove in a run on a one-out single in the sixth. Bates' pitcher Ginger Walsh (1-6) gave up seven runs on eight hits.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Bates jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single by freshman Cami Dyson in the top of the first. In the bottom of the inning, though, Tufts received all the offense that it needed, courtesy of a three-run blast by Trahan over the centerfield wall.
Brecher scattered four more hits over the remainder of the game, and Tufts added runs in both the third and fourth innings for the easy 5-1 win. Trahan was 3-7 with five runs batted in for the day, while Spogen was 3-6 with 4 RBIs. Trahan now leads the team with 14 RBIs.
With the two victories, the Jumbos moved to 2-0 in NESCAC play, tying them with Bowdoin, which swept Trinity this weekend.
"The NESCAC is what we are playing for, so the wins yesterday were really big," Moreau said. "We were prepped on Bates being a good team. I am unfamiliar with their program, but it was a good sign that we were able to beat them so easily."
Tomorrow, the Jumbos will face Salem State, which, despite a 3-7 record, has a .369 team batting average. The non-conference game should test Tufts' pitching unit, which has been slightly inconsistent this year.
On Saturday, the team will travel to Amherst for a doubleheader. Amherst, 2-0 in the NESCAC West and 11-4 overall, should provide strong competition in at least one of the two games. Ace Lauren Peloquin has complied an 8-0 record, relinquishing only one run over 57.1 innings this season for a 0.12 ERA. Off to a strong start early in NESCAC play, Tufts will be tested to see if it can maintain the top position in the conference.
