The Tufts baseball team entered yesterday's non-conference game against Brandeis carrying a three-game winning streak. Hopes of extending it to four were severely hampered in the first inning, however as the Judges scored five runs, three of them earned, against senior pitcher Steve Lapham.
Brandeis then went on to score a run in the third, sixth, and seventh en route to an 8-1 win, but it was the first inning that did in the Jumbos.
Brandeis' senior center fielder Jim Freethey started the game off with a single, then stole second. After a strikeout, sophomore first baseman Dan McIntosh and sophomore designated hitter David Graham both singled, loading the bases. Despite getting hit hard, Lapham might have gotten out of the inning without any damage, as he forced sophomore Lars Borssen to ground the ball to short.
The ball was hit softly, so Tufts' shortstop Brian Shapiro might not have been able to turn the double-play, but in his hurry to get the ball to second, he fumbled it and everyone was safe.
"Any time you make a pitcher throw more pitches in an inning, they are going to get tired." coach John Casey said after the game. "But he still needed to make good pitches to get out of it, and he didn't."
Following the error, Lapham's struggles continued, as he surrendered a sacrifice fly and two doubles before getting relieved after only two-thirds of an inning. Junior Mike Byron got the final out of the inning, but the Jumbos had already dug themselves into a five-run hole.
It was a disappointing outing for Lapham, who was only scheduled to pitch two innings on the day. He didn't make it that far, and part of the reason was his inability to retire batters after getting them down in the count.
"A lot of the hits they got were with two strikes," Casey said. "With two strikes, he has to make the pitch."
As it turned out, the five runs would be plenty for Brandeis' pitcher, junior Tom McShane. The pitcher, Brandeis' ace, entered the game with a 4-2 record and a 2.91 ERA. He improved on that yesterday, as he went eight and one-third innings, yielding only one run on four hits. Perhaps most impressively, he struck out seven Jumbos while walking none.
"He's a good pitcher," Casey said. "He had a tight slider working today. He makes you earn every run."
In fact, the only time the Jumbos gave McShane a scare was in the bottom of the third, when they sparked a rally that could have put Tufts back in the game. Down 6-0, junior center fielder Evan Zupancic and junior DH Jon Herbert both singled to start the inning. With runners on first and second, nobody out, and the heart of the order coming up, it looked like a possible big inning for the Jumbos.
The rally was stiffled almost as quickly as it started, as McShane got senior right fielder Dan Callahan to ground out down the first base line. The grounder did advance both runners and bring up the cleanup hitter, junior shortstop Brian Shapiro. McShane forced him to ground out to the first baseman, scoring a run, but forcing the second out of the inning.
Now with two outs, a runner on third, and only one run in, the inning looked much less promising. Senior first baseman Tim Ayers struck out swinging to end the inning, and McShane got even stronger from that point on. Following the back-to-back singles to start the third, McShane retired 19 of the next 20 batters he faced before getting relieved in the bottom of the ninth.
"We had the chance there, and if we get a few hits we score a few runs to make it 6-3 or 6-4," Casey said. "Then it's a new game."
McShane was simply too tough on the Jumbos, though.
"He threw a little harder than some of the pitchers we've been seeing," Callahan said. "But that's not an excuse at all. He's the type of guy that we'll need to hit later in the season."
The Jumbos' place in the standings will not be affected by the non-conference loss, and in terms of the NESCAC, the three-game sweep of Bowdoin over the weekend was much more important. That is little solace to the Jumbos, however.
"We go out there to win," Casey said. "I don't care who we're playing, we need to play well. It's much easier to start playing well and continue it, then to start playing badly and turn it around."
Callahan agreed with his coach, and put a slightly more positive spin on the game.
"Every game counts, even if it's not in the standings," Callahan said. "We need to learn from every loss and get better."
The Jumbos must put the 8-1 defeat behind them quickly as they face an important NESCAC homestand this weekend. The Trinity Bantams will visit Medford for a three-game set, including a 3 p.m. Friday afternoon game and a twin bill on Saturday with a noon start.
The Bantams are 7-2 in the NESCAC East, two games behind the Jumbos in the loss column. The two teams are the only two likely to win the division, so a sweep this weekend could seal the deal for the Jumbos.
"We got beat bad today," Callahan said. "We need to make sure it doesn't happen again."
