The softball team improved to 16-3 on Wednesday following a pair of shutout victories over the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen, 6-0 and 1-0.
Senior pitcher Lauren Giglio and junior pitcher Allyson Fournier were in top form, holding the Anchorwomen to four hits over the two games to help the Jumbos secure the double-header sweep and get back in the win column following a pair of losses to Williams.
Tufts jumped ahead early in game one when senior third baseman ChrissieMassrey singled home the game's first run in the top of the second inning for her eighth RBI of the season. The Jumbos tacked on three more in the fifth to take a 4-0 lead, capitalizing on a throwing error by the Anchorwomen and a pair of singles from senior catcher Jo Clair and junior center fielder Michelle Cooprider.
The four runs would be more than enough for Giglio, who cruised through Rhode Island's lineup, allowing just two hits over seven innings to go along with 10 strikeouts. Giglio improved to 6-1 on the year, and more impressively has now posted a 1.24 ERA in nine appearances.
"When any of our pitchers take the mound we're confident that if we post a few runs we'll get the job done," Clair said. "But also, with our lineup this year we're so strong that we should be able to put up a bunch of runs every game no matter who we're playing. And as an offense we want to give them as much run support as we possibly can."
Clair knocked in two more runs in the seventh inning for good measure, lacing a one-out double off the right field fence to give the Jumbos a 6-0 edge. The Anchorwomen would load the bases in the bottom half of the frame before Giglio induced a groundout to secure the shutout victory.
The nightcap of the double-header proved to be more of a nail-biter. Fournier squared off against Rhode Island senior pitcher Michelle Sylvestre, who had just logged 4.2 innings of work in the day's first game.
Neither pitcher budged through six innings, and the teams entered the final inning of the day knotted at zero. Senior pitcher Maria Darling entered the game for the Anchorwomen looking to keep the Jumbos off the scoreboard. After sophomore infielder Christina Raso led off the inning with a single, senior left fielder Sara Hedtler reached base on a fielder's choice. A throwing error and wild pitch allowed Hedtler to get to third base.
Still with one out in the inning, freshman infielder Cassie Ruscz hit a fly ball to shallow right field. Rhode Island's sophomore right fielder Abigail Francis caught the ball and quickly threw it to home plate to try to gun down Hedtler, who was tagging from third. The throw beat Hedtler to the plate, but Rhode Island's sophomore catcher ToriLussier dropped the ball as she tried to apply the tag on Hedtler, who scored what would be the game-winning run.
Fournier closed the door in the home half of the seventh, shutting the Anchorwomen down in order to earn her eighth win of the season, and more importantly secure the 1-0 victory and double-header sweep for the Jumbos. The All-American allowed just two hits and struck out 16 in the complete game effort, lowering her ERA to a remarkable 0.49.
"I think we played a lot better the first game than we did the second," Clair said. "But at the end of the day a win is a win, and it [is] good to get back in the win column. I think we needed to get some confidence back, and we did that."
"It was definitely good to get two wins ..." added senior infielder Kayla Holland. "Everyone has been working really hard in practice, especially on the little things, and I think it really showed in our games today."
Fournier and Giglio have been dominant as the anchors of the Jumbo's pitching staff. But the two veterans have logged a combined 108 innings already, including six complete games apiece. It would be in the team's best interest to limit the pair's workload so that they stay fresh heading into the stretch run of the regular season and into the postseason.
"Our whole pitching staff is great this year, but it's our job as hitters to get as many runs on the board as quick as possible, so our pitchers who do throw a lot of innings can come out of the game early," Holland added. "When [the score is] 1-0 in the sixth or seventh inning it puts a lot of pressure on our defense and pitching, so we'd obviously rather put the game away earlier."
Tufts will open up play in the NESCAC East this weekend when it returns home to take on Trinity in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday, followed by a double-header against Bowdoin on Sunday. The Bantams are 5-13 this season and the Polar Bears have lost two of their last five games, but the Jumbos are not taking their opponents lightly.
"This weekend is huge for us," Clair said. "We really need to go 5-0. We tend to play better at home, and we like being in front of a bigger crowd, so hopefully that will give us a little more momentum outside of the two wins we got [on Wednesday]. When you start NESCAC East play off right, the rest seems to fall into place, so it's definitely important for us to win these games."
"It's going be one of our biggest challenges so far," Holland added. "To win five games in three days won't be easy, but I think that we're ready for it. Everyone has been working really hard, and we want it badly."
