Facing three top-25 teams at the Sun West Tournament over spring break, the softball team got an offensive boost from a rookie who stepped up big in her collegiate debut.
Freshman Cara Hovhanessian led the Jumbos in batting average over the week-long Sun West Tournament, going .395 at the plate with 15 hits, seven runs scored and nine RBI. She produced at least one hit in eight of the team's 11 games, and turned in four multiple-hit games for 21 total bases.
"She's our best hitter right now," coach Cheryl Milligan said. "I'm not shocked; I knew she'd be a good hitter. We've got a lot to work on in terms of everyone's hitting, but she came through with some big hits when we needed them."
Hovhanessian's biggest game came in Tufts' 12-7 win over Taylor University on Saturday. The freshman went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI, eight total bases, and the first home run of her career. The solo shot came in the bottom of the fourth with the Jumbos up 7-2, but would prove crucial as the Trojans rallied in the top of the sixth to pull within one run.
"I'd had a good at-bat earlier in the game when I almost hit [a home run,]" Hovhanessian said. "I've never hit one over the fence in my life and I saw it go over the fence and it was a great feeling. I came in and our pitcher said 'that was a big run' and I didn't think so, because we were up by five, but then all of a sudden we were only up by one."
Hovhanessian's shot was the only run scored that inning and preserved the lead for the Jumbos, who put up four more in the bottom of the inning to seal the game before holding Taylor scoreless in the seventh.
Tufts faced some of the nation's best teams over the break, and Hovhanessian talked about the adjustments to collegiate pitching, the biggest of which is that the mound is three feet farther from the plate.
"You would think that would give you more time, but it actually gives the ball more time to move," she said. "When we lost to Amherst, their pitcher had a lot of movement on her pitches and because the ball had more time to move, I struggled against her."
Like all good hitters, Hovhanessian went to the tape and did some fine-tuning.
"We watched a lot of video of ourselves hitting, and I made some adjustments later in the week," she said. "I saw that I was striding late, and I need to make an earlier stride to see the ball better."
And it worked, as she batted .556 and poured in three three-hit games in the team's final six stands.
With her invaluable bat, Hovhanessian usually appears in the lineup as a designated hitter, but she plays first base when sophomore Erica Bailey is on the mound. In her five starts at the bag, she has amassed 38 putouts with only one error for a .976 fielding percentage, tied for second on the team.
Hovhanessian is one of eight freshmen on the young Jumbo roster, and many of the first-years are already making an impact on the field and in the stat book. Meghan Foley has started six games at shortstop, and while she has struggled offensively (.071, two hits), she has filled a key spot in the team's defense.
"She's doing excellent defensively," Milligan said. "She's a strong kid and she's got great footwork, and I'm sure that we'll continue to use her defensively [at shortstop]."
Laura Chapman and Roni Herbst have each started eight games in the outfield and each own perfect fielding percentages. Samantha Kuhles is batting .333 in six starts at outfield and at third base, where she boasts clean fielding records. And Lauren Gelmetti has a 2-1 record on the mound that included a six-inning one-hitter in the Jumbos' 8-0 dismantling of Wesleyan.
"They all got through the toughest tryouts we've ever had, and they're all going to contribute this year and for the next three years," Milligan said. "There's nobody that didn't contribute this trip, and you can't be disappointed with the way they played."
