On April 8, the softball team was mired in a slump, having dropped four of five, including both games of a doubleheader against NESCAC contender Williams - a team it had handed a 14-0 mercy-rule drubbing just two weeks prior.
Two weeks later, things are looking much brighter for the Jumbos.
Despite splitting a doubleheader against Endicott yesterday afternoon, winning the first game 6-3, before dropping the second 8-5, the squad is in prime position to take the NESCAC by storm following the conclusion of this weekend's three-game set with Colby.
The completion of yesterday's set with the Gulls marked the final day of a brutal schedule that had the team playing eight games in five days. Considering the circumstances - the team played three of those games against a Trinity squad that had boasted NESCAC East supremacy as the first pitch was thrown on Friday - Tufts emerged successfully.
Still, the grueling past few days took their toll on coach Cheryl Milligan's squad.
"On the fifth day, everyone's tired," junior Heather Kleinberger said. "But overall, we played well. We took the three at Trinity, which were the biggest games for us in terms of NESCACs. Splitting with Endicott and Wheaton, who are two big regional competitors, we would have liked to have taken all four, but overall we hit well and played well in the field."
The team can't really complain, as it has won 10 of its last 12 and needs only one win in this weekend's showdown with the 2-5 Colby Mules to claim the division's regular season crown.
Although yesterday's second-game loss didn't set the team back as far as league standings are concerned, it left a sour taste in the Jumbos' mouths.
"Right now, we're short of where we should be," Milligan said. "We played well through most of the stretch of games, especially against Trinity. But we're not always getting the job done when we need to. We couldn't seem to get a stop on defense in the second game. They did everything they wanted to do with the ball."
Endicott dictated the tone in game two, jumping out to a 5-0 lead with five in the top of the third off of junior Erica Bailey.
Unlike two weeks ago when the Jumbos could barely buy a hit, the offense refused to cow-tow to Gulls' starting pitcher, sophomore Jackie Collier.
Freshman Casey Sullivan continued her production at the plate, leading off the bottom of the third with a single up the middle. Three batters later - with a little assistance from the sun in left field - Tufts had decreased the deficit to just three on a two-run bloop single to left by freshman Jenna Robey, who, playing left field herself, was no stranger to the sun's blinding power.
The fourth inning brought with it Tufts' great equalizer: the home run. Both Kleinberger and Sullivan went deep for the Jumbos in the frame, tying the game at five and revitalizing the once-struggling Jumbo offense.
"A lot of people are out of their slumps now," Kleinberger said. "We're hitting the ball a little more consistently. But we can be a little bit better. There's no reason every single person on the team can't hit the ball hard every time up at bat, if we look for the right pitch to drive."
The team didn't find many more pitches to drive, however, as the Gulls scored three more times in the game to mount an insurmountable three-run advantage.
Game one saw another solid pitching performance from freshman hurler Stefanie Tong, who sailed through five innings before surrendering three runs to the two through four hitters in the sixth. But with Bailey waiting in the bullpen and the offense having already created a six-run padding, the Jumbos had no trouble putting the game away.
Although Tufts did win one of yesterday's games, in addition to Monday's match-up against Brandeis, there is still work to be done before the tournament kicks off in May.
"We're still not doing everything we need to do in order to win NESCACs and go on to Regionals," Kleinberger said. "We're not doing the little things right, like not hitting a cut or not doing what we need to do at the plate every time up. We just need to be more consistent."
With the Colby series marking the conclusion of the regular season, it's crunch time in terms of stringing together solid performances.
"This team has ton of talent, but I'm not sure if we've reached that potential so far, in terms of getting things done when we need to get them done, and putting all the pieces together," Milligan said. "We need to hit the ground running if we want to go far in the postseason."
