Strong pitching and timely hitting helped the softball team sweep its first two NESCAC East series of the year. Tufts defeated Trinity in a three-game set Friday and Saturday before downing Bowdoin in double-header action Sunday. Both series were played at home.
Tufts improved to 21-3 on the season, and extended its winning streak against NESCAC East opponents to 30 games, dating back to the 2011 season.
"It was definitely a very successful weekend," junior infielder Bri Keenan said. "Especially coming off the two losses last Saturday against Williams, it was great to get these wins and build our confidence."
Tufts had a tough test against Bowdoin on Sunday. In game one, Tufts senior captain Jo Clair hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give the home team an early 3-0 advantage. That would be all the run support junior pitcher Allyson Fournier would need. Fournier fanned eight in seven innings of work, including two punch outs in the sixth inning to escape a bases-loaded jam. Her pitching secured a 4-0 victory for the Jumbos.
The pitchers for both teams - Tufts senior Lauren Giglio and Bowdoin senior Melissa DellaTorre - brought their A-games in the second game. Each stranded ten opposing base runners, and the teams entered the sixth inning tied at one run apiece. With one out and runners on second and third in the bottom half of the frame, senior outfielder Sara Hedtler hit a groundball to sophomore shortstop DimitriaSpathakis. Spathakis tried to gun down freshman Summer Horowitz at home, but her throw was wide of the mark, and two runs scored as a result.
The Polar Bears got a potentially winning run to the plate in the seventh inning, but Giglio induced a fly ball out to dash the visitors' hopes of a comeback and to secure the 3-1 win.
"We take every game seriously, but the NESCAC East games are of the utmost importance," Clair said. "They determine the playoffs and you need to get the best seeding, so everyone knows we take those games with extreme importance."
Tufts opened the weekend's action at Spicer Field on Friday afternoon against Trinity. The Bantams jumped ahead on starting pitcher Giglio off an RBI double from senior catcher Abigail Ostrom in the third inning. But the Jumbos reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning, and the Bantams would not cross the plate the rest of the series.
Trailing 1-0, Hedtler led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and Clair followed with a walk. Freshman infielder Cassie Ruscz then launched a three-run homer to left field to give the Jumbos a 3-1 edge. The Jumbos tacked on four more in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run bomb to straightaway center by Clair.
Meanwhile, Giglio settled down following the lone run. The senior tossed a complete game, three-hitter to help the Jumbos secure a 7-1 victory.
On Saturday, Clair, Giglio, Hedtler and seniors ChrissieMassrey and Kayla Holland were honored in a Senior Day ceremony before game one of the doubleheader. The Jumbos then blanked the Bantams in consecutive games, 9-0 (5 innings) and 5-0.
"[The Senior Day] was great. Our class is really close with each other, and it's going to be sad when it's all over," Giglio said. "... It was really nice to hear coach's thoughts on us, not just of our play on the field but also of our accomplishments off the field. That was really special."
Fournier was her usual dominant self in game one, striking out four in a five-inning shutout that was cut short by the mercy rule. Trinity's only hit against the All-American came on an infield single from sophomore right fielder Erica Quinones.
The Jumbos' offense was equally impressive. Tufts jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning on an RBI double by Clair, followed by RBI singles from Massrey and Horowitz. The Jumbos tacked on two more in the second inning, and four more in the fourth inning, capped off by a grand slam from Clair that put the hosts up 9-0.
Giglio's strong start in the following game propelled the Jumbos to the series sweep. The senior threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits to go along with seven strikeouts while stranding seven Trinity base runners.
"Our pitchers have been doing an excellent job," Keenan said. "They've stepped up, but they know that if they do make a mistake we'll be there to pick them up."
Clair blasted a homerun in the first inning, and junior second baseman Gracie Marshall launched a pair of solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings as the Jumbos cruised to a 5-0 victory.
Clair continued on her senior year tear over the weekend, tallying four more long balls and 12 RBI's in the five games to add to her season total of 11 homeruns and 33 RBIs.
"I will admit that I hold myself to the highest of standards," Clair said. "... My approach has always been that I need to do whatever it takes to lead the team. Over the years it's gotten harder, especially in the NESCAC, because pitchers start to pitch around me or pitch to me differently. I think it's a testament to my ability to adjust to what is being thrown to me. But ... my approach is just to go out and do my best and understand my role in that specific moment or in a specific game."
Still, the Jumbos owe much of their continued success to stellar pitching. Anchored by Fournier and Giglio, Tufts' pitchers combined to allow just two runs over the five games. With her two starts over the weekend, Fournier improved to 10-0 on the year and lowered her ERA to 0.41. Giglio won all three of her starts to improve to 9-1, while seeing her ERA shrink to 1.07.
"Our whole team is very competitive with one another," Giglio said. "The pitching staff is like a team inside of a team. To have Allyson be so dominant pushes the rest of our pitchers. It helps drive us."
Tufts now sits alone in first place in the NESCAC East thanks to its dominant weekend, and will look to solidify its position atop the division when it travels to Bates this upcoming weekend.
"[This weekend] was absolutely huge just because Trinity and Bowdoin are in the NESCAC East, and that record completely determines the playoffs," Clair said. "The expectation was to go 5-0 and we met that expectation."
