It had been 12 days since the Tufts women's softball team's last contest, but any thoughts of the team being off its game were dispelled quickly this weekend as the Jumbos won all six of their games, exploding offensively with 10 home runs over the stretch. With their success, the Jumbos played their way to an impressive 15-3 overall record and 2-0 mark in New England Conference games.
The team capped a successful weekend with a 9-7 win over No. 9 Wheaton and a 7-3 defeat of Western Connecticut on Sunday. The victories came on the heels of two swept doubleheaders, 4-1 and 6-3 at home over Bates on Saturday and a 2-1 and 6-5 dismissal at Bridgewater State on Thursday.
Against Western Connecticut, a two-run home run from senior first baseman Katie Smith and a solo shot from freshman catcher Megan Cusik put the Jumbos up 3-1 early after a brief one-run lead by the Colonials. In the fifth inning, senior shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti came through for the Jumbos with a three-run home run in the fifth inning to lead Tufts to the 7-3 win.
"The Western Connecticut win was important to us because we were losing and managed to come from behind and win," Bogiolatti said.
The driving force in each of the wins was the stellar play of the freshman class. Responsible for seven of the team's home runs, the Class of 2008 proved themselves as a formidable core for the coming years.
Freshman standout Erica Bailey had an impressive weekend for the Jumbos in the pitcher's circle and at the plate. Starting on the mound on Sunday's match against Wheaton, she put in four RBIs at the plate, including a three-run blast to right-center in the bottom of the second. As the starting pitcher against Bridgewater State on Thursday, Bailey allowed just four hits and no earned runs in seven quick innings. She walked no one and struck out five, earning the win in the first game of the doubleheader.
"Back home, all the players had to be pretty well-rounded to earn a starting position," Bailey said. "The more involved I am in a game, the better I feel I perform, so when I pitch, I love to be hitting as well."
Freshman second baseman Danielle Lopez dominated at the plate the entire weekend. In the double-header against Bridgewater State on Thursday, Lopez smashed four home runs. In the second game, Lopez went three for five with two home runs and five RBIs from the leadoff spot, breaking a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning with a three-run homer that put Tufts ahead 6-3.
"Hits were scattered all the way throughout the order with people stepping up and executing plays and making things happen," Lopez said, commenting on the solid hitting throughout the lineup the Jumbos demonstrated throughout the weekend.
The Jumbos won their first NESCAC game of the season against Bates in a double-header on Saturday. Junior pitcher Sarah Conroy held Bates scoreless for five innings and allowed just one unearned run in the sixth. Conroy was also two for two at the plate.
In the second game, both teams combined for 20 hits in a nail-biter that was tied 1-1 until Tufts scored on a squeeze play in the fourth inning. Freshman pitcher Heather Kleinberger earned the win for Tufts with six innings pitched, allowing nine hits and two earned runs before handing the game over to sophomore Lauren Ebstein. Lopez, Bongiolatti, and Cusick each had two hits for the Jumbos.
According to Bongiolatti, the win over Bates was crucial.
"The Bates win was very important to us. It's important to start off our first conference games with a win," Bongiolatti said.
While the offensive stats dominated the day, Lopez also attributes the team's success to its strong play on the field.
"Our defense and pitching was solid. They helped us keep our leads," Lopez said.
Bailey returned to the mound on Sunday to lead the Jumbos to a 9-7 victory over Wheaton College, ranked ninth in the nation. The freshman pitcher went two for three with four RBIs and went the distance in the pitcher's circle, pitching seven innings and holding Wheaton to seven runs.
"The [game] that was most fun to win was probably Wheaton because they were nationally ranked," Bailey said. "We were excited to see how we would do against a team like that."
Tufts proved more than up to the challenge. The Jumbos scored early, thanks to a two-run double by Bongiolatti, who finished with three RBIs. Wheaton scored four unearned runs in the second inning due to three Tufts errors, but Bailey's three-run home run righted the Jumbos' ship and sealed the win.
Tufts added three runs in the fourth inning to push its lead to 9-4. Sophomore Annie Ross had an impressive game as well, going two for four with two runs scored.
The Jumbos will continue their impressive season with a double-header at Babson this Tuesday, and look to move themselves a little closer to a national contender spot.
