Jumbos extend season winning streak to 20 games

The No. 1-ranked Jumbos returned to the field for the first time in 10 days over the weekend to continue their undefeated season. Tufts swept two doubleheaders: first at Bowdoin on Saturday, then at home against Bates on Sunday. The games represented important firsts for Tufts: the Bowdoin series was Tufts’ first NESCAC matchup of the season, while the games against Bates were the team’s first home games of the season at the newly renovated Spicer Field.

The games were a breath of fresh air after a dreary stretch of postponed games during which the Jumbos played just once -- an April 1 doubleheader at Babson -- between March 22 and April 10.

“There were a few frustrating weeks where the games kept getting cancelled and rescheduled and everyone really just wanted to start playing and really get into the full swing of the season,” sophomore Cassie Ruscz said.

With two wins on Saturday and two more on Sunday, the Jumbos improved their record to 20-0, maintaining their reign as the only unbeaten team in Div. III.

Tufts won its twice-rescheduled home opener 8-0 over Bates on Sunday, highlighted by senior tri-captain pitcher Allyson Fournier's fourth perfect game of her career. Fournier blanked the Bobcats with 13 strikeouts in front of a crowd of 128 fans, who were treated to Fournier's 11th-career no-hitter. The game, which lasted just five innings and 57 minutes, was dominated by Tufts on both sides of the ball from start to finish.

Fournier retired the first 10 batters she faced by way of the K, allowing her first ball in play in the fourth inning on an unsuccessful bunt attempt. The only other ball put in play against Fournier was another unsuccessful bunt attempt in the fifth inning. She then struck out the last batter in the fifth to secure the perfect game. The win improved Fournier's season record to 11-0, in addition to her otherworldly 0.11 ERA and 148 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.

Six of the Jumbos’ eight runs in the game came in the fourth inning, all with two outs. The scoring began with an RBI double from senior tri-captain Gracie Marshall. Ruscz followed with a single up the middle, which drove in two more runs and raised her season RBI total to 25. After senior tri-captain Michelle Cooprider singled to keep the inning alive, first-year Raven Fournier broke the game wide open with a three-run homer to left-center.

Tufts completed the doubleheader sweep of Bates with an 8-5, come-from-behind win in the second game. Junior pitcher Erica County went the distance for the Jumbos, hurling a complete game with six strikeouts and four earned runs. She scattered 12 hits over seven innings and earned the win, raising her season record to 9-0.

It was a total team attack on offense for Tufts, with eight different players registering a hit and six players scoring a run.

On Saturday, Tufts squared off against Bowdoin, its toughest opponent in the NESCAC East. The Polar Bears entered the game 18-6 overall and 6-0 in the NESCAC, but weren’t able to add to their win totals against the Jumbos.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Fournier enjoyed perhaps her most impressive outing of the season, retiring 21 of the 22 batters she faced over seven innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 20 batters.

Fournier’s counterpart, Bowdoin sophomore Emily Griffin, was excellent as well, allowing just one run over seven innings and nearly keeping Tufts in check. But the Jumbos got to Griffin in the fourth, beginning with a leadoff double to right-center by Ruscz. Cooprider followed with a single, and then a groundout by sophomore Summer Horowitz moved the runners to second and third with one out. First-year Sarah Finnigan got the job done, sending a ground ball to the pitcher that allowed the run to score from third, giving Tufts a 1-0 lead.

One run was all Fournier would need, and the Jumbos prevailed by that slim margin.

The second game of the doubleheader wasn't nearly so close, as the Jumbos finished off their sweep of the Polar Bears with a 10-0 rout. Ruscz provided the highlight of the game by breaking a scoreless tie in the fourth with a two-run homer -- her fourth long ball of the season. Tufts piled on from there, adding two runs in the fifth inning and six in the sixth inning.

With four wins over the weekend, Tufts took over the lead of the NESCAC East from Bowdoin. The Jumbos are 4-0 against conference opponents, with seven conference games yet to be played.

For the Jumbos, winning the NESCAC is just a stepping stone in what is shaping up to be another national championship run.

“For our team, we’re constantly working towards our ultimate goal of a national championship, but we take very seriously each individual step and challenge to getting to that goal,” Ruscz said. “A NESCAC championship is that first step towards the national championship once we hit playoffs, so it is very important for our team.“

And now that Spicer Field is finally ready for action, Tufts can settle in and focus on the task at hand.

“I think all the scheduling changes have been one of the team’s biggest challenges so far,” Ruscz said. “We haven’t really been able to get into a groove or rhythm yet. We just got out onto our new field this weekend, and it is a pretty big adjustment to go from practicing everything inside to moving out onto the field. The dynamic is completely different for taking ground balls and pop-flies, but now that we have the field, we really have that chance to get into a flow and keep working towards our goals.”