The No. 1 women's softball team started the 2014 campaign strong, winning 12 of its first 13 games on its annual spring break trip in Florida.
Tufts is coming off its best season in program history, a year that saw the team go 46-3 en route to a NESCAC Championship and NCAA title. Matching that success will be no easy task, but early indications suggest this year's squad has the ability to do so.
The Jumbos owe much of last year's success to stellar pitching. Senior pitcher Lauren Giglio, who sat out all of last season with a leg injury, and junior All-American pitcher Allyson Fournier anchor a pitching staff that led the NESCAC in earned run average (ERA) last season. Both pitchers looked in top form out of the gate last week, as the pitching staff recorded five shutouts in its first thirteen games.
Fournier dominated in her six starts, earning a 0.62 ERA while averaging an incredible 15.6 strikeouts per game. Fournier was literally unhittable in Friday's outing against Bethel, recording the eighth no-hitter of her career. She struck out 15 during that game while walking only two. Her strikeouts-to-walk ratio stands at an impressive 20.
Giglio was also dominant in her six starts, recording a 0.70 ERA while holding teams to under four hits per game on average. As a team, the Jumbos have posted a total ERA of 1.11 over their first 13 games.
"As a senior pitcher it [has] been great to see Allyson [Fournier] developing
she's obviously really strong," Giglio said. "[Sophomore] Erica [Country] and [freshman] Jasleen [Ghumman] are two young developing pitchers who will have a lot of success going forward."
Tufts won its first two contests in Minneola, Fla. convincingly, beating Ramapo and Southern Maine 8-0 on Mar. 15.
Worcester State would provide Tufts with its first real test of the season the following day. The upset-minded Lancers took control of the contest early, rocking County for six runs in the top of the first.
Most of the damage in the frame came with two outs, as sophomore Hayley Terry and junior Taylor Hanley capitalized on RBI opportunities with back-to-back singles. The pair combined for five hits and four RBIs for Worcester in the game.
The Jumbos promptly cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame after a three-run homerun from freshman infielder Cassie Ruscz. After County surrendered another run, Fournier came on in relief in the fourth inning and shut down the Lancers, throwing four no-hit innings and striking out 12 as the Jumbos tried to mount a comeback.
Junior short stop Gracie Marshall laced an RBI single into left field to cut the lead to 7-4 in the seventh inning. The comeback effort was short-lived, however, as sophomore Meghan Rich shut down the final Jumbo batters to secure the win for her team.
"I think personally I do feel a bit of pressure as a leader of the team and one of the captains to do as well as we did last year," Clair said. "We need to find this team's groove and the face of this team."
After the disappointing loss to Worcester State, Tufts bounced back to win its last ten games of the trip.
The streak was highlighted by Fournier's no-hitter against Bethel on Friday and a strong comeback effort against Keene State on Saturday. The Jumbos trailed 4-0 early against the Owls, but plated three unearned runs in the fifth and three more runs in the seventh to overcome the deficit and earn a hard-fought 6-4 victory.
"The hitting was good, especially our clutch hitting," Clair said. "We had two comeback wins, which is always nice to see. Obviously it's early and we still have a lot of work to do."
While dominant pitching has propelled the Jumbos' success in recent years, they also pose a legitimate offensive threat. Clair began this season right where she left off last year's All-American season. In 13 games, Clair has a .419 batting average, with four homers and 12 RBIs. Clair has led the NESCAC in homeruns the last two seasons, and looks intent on accomplishing the feat again.
Ruscz also provides the Jumbos with a power threat. In the first week of her collegiate career, Ruscz blasted three homeruns and leads the team with 18 RBIs. Ruscz is one of eight incoming freshman that head coach Cheryl Milligan is hoping will have an immediate impact on the team.
"It's nice to have a few new additions to the lineup in Cassie [Ruscz] and Shelby [Lipson]," Clair said. "The freshmen saw a good amount of time in Florida, and I really think all of them will be able to contribute in some way."
Senior outfielder Sara Hedtler also started the season strong, hitting .372 with five walks. Junior outfielder Michelle Cooprider and sophomore infielder Christina Raso have provided the Jumbos with a spark on the base paths, stealing a combined seven bases in last week's games.
Tufts will take on Bowdoin in a three-game set this weekend, in what will be its first home series and first NESCAC series of the year. The Bears also came out of the gate hot last week, winning six of their last seven contests en route to a 10-5 overall record.
"Bowdoin's always our biggest rival in the NESCAC East," Clair said. "The three games we play against them each year are always big, especially after beating them in the NESCAC Championship series last year. They're going to be looking to get back at us, so it makes it even more exciting."
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