A sweet homecoming indeed.
After a week-long stint in California sent the softball team back East with a 4-8 record, the Jumbos picked up two much-needed wins in a doubleheader at non-conference Springfield on Tuesday.
After rolling over the Pride in the opener 11-1, Tufts came back from an early one-run deficit to take the second game, 8-5, and move to 6-8 on the season.
The Jumbos ripped 23 hits against a Springfield rotation that received little backup from its hitting or its fielding. The Pride managed just 11 hits in the two games and recorded nine errors. Tufts took advantage of the sloppy play, scoring eight unearned runs and adding a trio of homers to sweep the doubleheader.
"[Springfield] had a day like we've had in the past, where they didn't field very well, especially in the first game," coach Cheryl Milligan said. "But it was a nice day for us to get things in order and make sure that we know we can hit the ball. [It's] not the most challenging team we're going to face, but we have to beat who's on our schedule."
In the second game, Springfield took its only lead of the day with a pair of doubles in the bottom of the first from sophomore Denise Fumicello and freshman Angela Atkins.
The second inning looked promising for the Jumbos as they loaded the bases with one out. But freshman Laura Chapman popped up a bunt and Springfield freshman Shanda Kogut caught sophomore Mara Dodson at third for the double play.
Poor base-running plagued the Jumbos all day and kept the Pride within striking distance. The team's relative inexperience may be partially to blame, but the unforced outs and lost bases are troubling as the NESCAC schedule begins.
"We are an absolute train wreck on the base path," Milligan said. "We ran ourselves into five outs that I can think of yesterday. We missed a couple of signs, we go the wrong way off a base, and we run into double plays like it's our job. Thankfully, we're in a game where we can afford to do that, but we can't keep running like that and expect to win."
The Pride's quiet bats pardoned Tufts' miscues, as senior hurler Julia Brenta held Springfield to 10 at-bats in the middle three innings, giving the Jumbo bats a chance to come alive. Brenta picked up her first win of the season with four earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts in seven innings.
Sophomore Danielle Lopez, 3-for-4 with two RBI, evened the game in the third with a solo shot to right. After another three-up, three-down inning for the Pride, Tufts took over. A double from sophomore Megan Cusick and a two-run homer from freshman Maya Ripecky got the Jumbos going in the fourth, and freshman Cara Hovhanessian added her second home run of the season in the fifth to put Tufts up 5-2.
Springfield finally got another run in the fifth, but Cusick turned a double play at the plate to end the inning with two runners on base. Cusick came up big in the win, going 2-for-3 with a walk, including the RBI double that ignited the Jumbos' three-run fourth inning.
"Megan's been great at the plate and behind it," Milligan said. "Last year she had one of the longest hard-luck streaks I've ever seen, hitting it right at people and not getting any breaks. But she hits the ball so hard consistently, and she'll end up on base. She's a 5-6-7 hitter for us, but a lot of teams would be happy to take her at the cleanup spot."
In the opener, the Jumbo bats slammed 12 hits off sophomore Stephanie Blackman for the 11-1 win. Senior co-captain Sarah Conroy picked up the win with three strikeouts and no earned runs, allowing just two hits.
The middle of the lineup sparked the rout, as Dodson, batting fifth, doubled to right, and Cusick reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. Sophomore Heather Kleinberger, 2-for-4 on the day, cleaned the bases with a two-run single to center.
Chapman, filling in as the designated hitter, went 3-for-4 at the leadoff spot with two stolen bases, including a dash home on a passed ball.
"That's just Chappy being fast, and it's why she's on base a lot of the time," Milligan said. "If she puts the ball in the right place - and she's had the most success of anyone at putting the ball on the ground - then she'll put pressure on any defense."
But with a host of other young speedsters struggling at the plate, the new strength of the Tufts offense has yet to really make an impact on the field.
"[Our speed] has definitely changed the way we're playing, but we haven't maximized it," Milligan said. "The really fast kids aren't doing what need to at plate to be as effective a part of our offense as they could be."
While much of the Jumbos' offense last season funneled through All-American Courtney Bongiolatti, depth is a key asset of this year's roster. With sophomore slugger Erica Bailey out with an injury on Tuesday, the entire lineup shifted up a spot.
"[Not having Erica] changes things, but you can take any one person out of this team and we're still going to get the job done," Milligan said. "There's no one on this team that we look at and say 'that's the kid we need on the field.'"
The Jumbos will need all their weapons in top form as they take on Suffolk on Friday followed by NESCAC goliath Williams in a Sunday doubleheader.
"In order to beat Williams and get NESCAC wins, we need to play well individually and together," Cusick said. "Winning is contagious and if one of us does well, people will feed off of that."
