The baseball team kicked off conference play this weekend with a scheduling nightmare, as a three-game series meant to be played at NESCAC East-rivals Bates was moved to Tufts due to poor field conditions and an incoming storm that threatened the Lewiston, Maine area. After the Jumbos recorded a 2-0 win on Saturday, however, rain in Medford caused the second and third games to be postponed.
Nevertheless, the lone win follows Tufts' most successful spring break trip since the team began travelling in 1984, as the Jumbos went 11-1 and outscored opponents 94-43 over the 10-day period. They are now 12-1 overall and 1-0 in their conference, at the top of the NESCAC East.
In a game that saw all of its scoring in the first inning, Tufts came out on top of an intense pitchers' duel. Junior Kyle Slinger started for Tufts just a week after earning NESCAC Pitcher of the Week honors. He picked up his fourth win in as many starts this season, throwing seven scoreless innings and improving his ERA to 1.04.
"[Kyle] just hit his spots," head coach John Casey said. "He kept the ball down. We had a plan for how we wanted him to pitch [Bates] and he executed it."
Opponents are hitting just .144 against him, and the NESCAC strikeout leader has quickly become the clear ace in the rotation.
Fellow southpaw Tim Superko, a freshman reliever, recorded his first save of the season, pitching the final two innings and giving up just one hit. Superko, who is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA after two starts and four appearances, seems poised to be one of Tufts' go-to arms in the bullpen, and a start is not out of the question for the young lefty.
"I was happy with how I threw on Saturday," Superko said. "It was nice to get my first NESCAC outing under my belt and even better that we were able to win the game."
Slinger and Superko's impressive performances on Saturday bode well for the season, as the Jumbos will need to rely on strong pitching and good defense to back up their prolific offense as they look to return to the NESCAC playoffs for the first time since their 2011 championship season.
"I'll be happy in any role this season, whether it be out of the bullpen or as a starter," Superko said. "As a freshman, I'm just doing what I can to help us be as successful as possible."
Slinger retired the first 12 Bobcat batters he faced before working his way out of multiple jams unscathed, including a two-out, bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth. His eleven strikeouts in the game bring his season total up to 27.
Superko also looked surprisingly mature in his two innings of work, striking out two and stranding a pair of runners in the ninth to end the game.
"Bates had a lot of left-handed hitters in their lineup, which gave me a bit of an advantage right away," Superko said. "I felt like I had good command of my fastball which helped my off-speed pitches that weren't as effective."
After pounding the ball throughout the spring break trip, Tufts' offense was quiet on Saturday.
The team's entire offensive production came in the first inning, beginning with a one-out single from junior left fielder Nick Barker. Following a balk that moved Barker to second, senior third baseman Wade Hauser doubled him home to collect a team-leading 12th RBI of the season. Another double by senior designated hitter Max Freccia gave the Jumbos their second run and capped the team's hitting and scoring for the game.
In fact, after the first, Bates senior pitcher Brad Reynolds silenced Tufts' hitters completely for five straight innings, an effort that his bullpen continued. The Jumbos finished with two runs on three hits, and the Bobcats with no runs on four hits.
"I think we had one [really] hard hit ball against [Reynolds] in the first [...] and then after that, he shut us down," Casey said.
With rain throughout the northeast and poor early spring field conditions plaguing NESCAC teams, the baseball team's schedule has been constantly changing to accommodate the postponements and cancellations.
Tufts hopes to continue its hot start to the season while it takes a brief break from conference play. Yesterday, the Jumbos played the Brandeis Judges at home at 3:00 p.m., a game which they won, 2-1, and are set to take on the Keene St. Owls this afternoon, also at home. This weekend, the team's doubleheader at Hamilton was cancelled, and so a home doubleheader with Colby-Sawyer has been added to the schedule.
