The second half of a doubleheader against Endicott last Tuesday suggested that the softball team was emerging from a brief but costly offensive slump.
The proof was a three-game sweep of NESCAC East bottom-dweller Bates over the weekend by a combined score of 34-3, which included the Jumbos' biggest single-game output since March 2002.
"Offensively it was good to have a weekend like we just had," said junior Cara Hovhanessian, who extended her hitting streak to eight games with two hits in each half of Saturday's doubleheader. "I think a lot of us got our bats back."
The Jumbos, who advanced to 11-1 in the conference, had already clinched the NESCAC East last weekend and will move on to face Williams in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament Friday. The Bobcats fell to a league-worst 2-10 and 6-21 overall and will miss out on the NESCAC Tournament for the ninth straight year.
The Jumbos' offense broke out in a big way on Saturday, particularly in the second game of the doubleheader, with a 19-0 win that ended after five innings. Every starter had a hit and five had multiple RBI.
Hovhanessian continued her clutch hitting with a 3-for-5 showing, six RBI and a home run. Sophomore first baseman Christy Tinker also smacked a homer, her team-leading seventh of the season, and had three RBI.
"We worked really hard in practice all week," Hovhanessian said. "We did a lot of hitting situations, and I think we all individually picked something we wanted to work on in the games to fine-tune our hitting and to gear up for NESCACs."
Tufts got things going early thanks to some good baserunning and some poor fielding from the Bobcats. Lopez's two-run single broke things open in the first inning and helped Tufts build an early four-run lead. The Jumbos then added two in the second after Hovhanessian singled and Tinker went yard.
While freshman Izzie Santone was cruising on the mound, allowing just two hits in three innings, the Jumbos continued their impressive offensive onslaught. They added four runs in the third inning as Bates freshman Liz Johnston continued to struggle, allowing 13 hits and 10 runs. Her teammate, freshman Sarah Cullen, fared no better, surrendering seven runs in the fifth.
The first game of the doubleheader left Tufts victorious, 7-3, thanks to a pair of strong pitching performances and a porous Bates defense. Junior Stefanie Tong allowed six hits and three earned runs over four innings to bring her record to 8-0 on the season before freshman Kim Miner took over and earned the save. Miner had her best series of the season over the weekend, tallying a combined seven strikeouts in five hitless innings.
Tufts scored four runs in the second to take an early lead. Hovhanessian plated after junior right fielder Maya Ripecky reached on one of two Bobcat errors in the inning. Ripecky later scored on an error by sophomore second baseman Jean McIntyre, and junior Roni Herbst added an RBI single.
Bates would add two runs in the bottom of the third and another in the fourth to pull within a run, but Tufts put the game out of reach in the fifth. Another Bobcat error led to the first run of the inning before Ripecky smacked a two-run single to knock in Lopez and Hovhanessian.
Friday's series opener was over early, as the Jumbos scored five runs in the first and cruised from there. Two straight walks loaded the bases for Hovhanessian, who delivered with a two-run single through the left side. Her bat remained hot, and she finished the weekend 8-for-11 with 10 RBI and has a hit in her last eight games.
"I think I'm just seeing the ball better in the box," she said. "I'm not over-anxious and I'm more relaxed than I was earlier in the season in California."
After finishing their regular-season schedule with a doubleheader at Springfield tomorrow, the Jumbos then head to Wesleyan on Friday to face Williams in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. Tufts and Trinity will represent the East and Williams and Wesleyan earned the bids from the West.
The Jumbos are 2-3 against this championship field on the season, with losses to Williams and Wesleyan at the Sun West Tournament back in March and a regular-season split with Trinity, but they are the defending conference champions and have lost just three games in the month of April.
"We just have to have a good week in practice working on our defense, and hopefully all our pitchers are healthy," Hovhanessian said. "We should be primed to win another championship."
