Looking back (Oct. 19) | Tampa Bay Rays 3, Boston Red Sox 1
In what will go down as one of the most exciting championship series in recent memory, baseball's recent postseason superstars were supplanted by the new kids on the block. Surprising Rays reliever David Price shut the door on Boston's comeback hopes late Sunday night at Tropicana Field to advance, four games to three, and earn a spot in the World Series.
After allowing the largest comeback in postseason history, when the Red Sox scored eight runs over the final three innings to steal Game 5 and keep their slim World Series hopes alive, the Rays finally closed the door with a tidy 3-1 victory three days later, spearheaded by a solid start from ALCS MVP Matt Garza.
Garza, who scattered two hits over seven-plus innings and notched nine strikeouts in the start, was followed by the young sensation in Price. The Vanderbilt grad and No. 1 overall selection in the 2007 draft left the Sox mystified and helped propel the Rays from a 96-loss season in 2007 to their first Fall Classic berth in franchise history. The squad's young guns, center fielder B.J. Upton and third baseman Evan Longoria, both had monster showings over the seven-game set, with four round-trippers a piece.
Tampa Bay now turns toward to the NL's lovable losers, the Philadelphia Phillies. A far cry from postseason action of the past decade, this World Series promises to feature exciting play from a bevy of budding superstars, and two teams who have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.
--
Looking ahead (Oct. 25) | Field hockey at Trinity
For the past few weeks, the NESCAC field hockey standings have been shuffling at the top beneath heavyweight Bowdoin, as it, along with Tufts, Middlebury and Trinity, scrambled to outlast each other on the league's undefeated list.
After Bowdoin handed Middlebury its first loss of the season, the Panthers rebounded to do the same to the Trinity Bantams. But a Tufts win over Middlebury put the Jumbos in second before Trinity's 2-0 upset of Bowdoin Saturday — and with the Bantams accomplishing a feat that no team has pulled off since 2006 and the Jumbos solidly in first place, Saturday's matchup between the two teams just got a lot more interesting.
No. 5 in the national standings and the only undefeated team left in the top 20, Tufts will have to hit the road to contend with a Trinity team that has proven it deserves its national-No. 9 ranking. Like Tufts, Trinity wields a balanced offense, with four players boasting five or more goals.
While the Jumbos lead the Bantams in goals per game, both teams have played solid defense this year, holding opponents to under one goal per contest.
The Jumbos will have to summon the offensive firepower that has helped them dominate time and again this season if they want to survive what could be their toughest test this season.
