For the first time in the 139-year history of Trinity baseball, a Bantam pitcher threw a perfect game. But in the end, it wasn't enough.
Trinity junior Tim Kiely improved to 3-0 on the season with his seven-inning 4-0 gem in Saturday's first game, but Tufts took the other two games of the weekend's three-game set in Hartford, Conn. winning 2-1 Friday behind a strong start from senior Derek Rice and then 13-6 in a game two slugfest Saturday.
In the series' second game, the Jumbos found themselves on the losing end of a truly remarkable performance. Throwing just 79 pitches, Kiely retired all 21 batters he faced, striking out nine, including four of the first six batters. The Bantams recorded three runs in the bottom of the fourth - more than enough for Kiely.
"He was awesome," senior catcher Chris Decembrele said. "There isn't much else to say. He had some overpowering stuff and didn't make any mistakes. He had surgery last year, so we hadn't seen him, and he was unbelievable. His performance was great, and it showed a lot for us to respond by coming out and getting that third game."
Indeed, the Jumbos more than recovered in game two, as the offense wasted no time putting runners on base. Senior tri-captain Brian Casey led off the game with a hit, reigniting the lineup and setting the stage for the Jumbos' 13-6 win. Casey went 4-for-6 at the plate with three RBI.
Junior right fielder Steve Ragonese also chipped in three RBI, while sophomore center fielder Dave Katzman overshadowed both with five. For an offense that couldn't muster even one baserunner the previous game, the Jumbos surely turned things around on the offensive end.
"The first game wasn't that big a deal for us," coach John Casey said. "Kiely deserves a ton of credit for that performance, but we knew we had another game to play, and we needed to win. Our goal was to win the series and we did that."
The first-game falter was not too consequential thanks to a stellar eight-inning one-run performance from Rice Friday afternoon. Brian Casey finished the job in the ninth, coming in from shortstop to earn his third save of the season.
Trinity's starter, junior Chandler Barnard, was also on top of his game, going eight and two-thirds innings, and surrendering two runs, while fanning six. Sophomore second baseman Kevin Casey drove in both Jumbo runs, plating Katzman with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and knocking in his brother Brian with a single in the fifth.
With Rice on the mound, Tufts needed little offense to emerge victorious.
"Derek had a great game on Friday," Decembrele said. "He pitched very well, and we made the plays we needed to make. We were able to keep them from getting a big inning."
The weekend's wins have put the Jumbos in the driver's seat to earn a NESCAC Tournament berth, as they need just one more league win to make the playoffs, and two more would clinch the division title, which would give the Jumbos sole possession of first place in the NESCAC East for the first time in five years. With perennial division doormat Colby on tap for Friday and Saturday, the Jumbos are confident they can get the job done.
"If we win the next series, we get the division," Decembrele said. "Trinity is a great team, and we beat them twice. Any kind of confidence we get going forward to this week is great. Hopefully we can keep playing well and get some momentum heading toward playoffs."
With five games scheduled for this week, the Jumbos look to build on Friday and Saturday's strong showings.
"These were really great team wins," coach Casey said. "A lot of guys played really well. Kevin drove in both runs in the first game. Obviously Katzman had a big game in the third game, as did some other guys. Decembrele had a big weekend defensively, and the infield also made some big plays. It was just a great team win."
While certainly in good position, the team will not rest on its laurels. With UMass Dartmouth coming to town today and Bentley following on Wednesday, there is no time to dwell on the success.
"We're looking at UMass Dartmouth," coach Casey said. "We deal with what's in front of us. Colby is a good baseball team that we have to play, but we've got two games before we get there that we want to win."
