Tufts bats come alive in rout of Brandeis

Continuing its strong first half of the season into April, Tufts swept a doubleheader against Brandeis in Waltham on Saturday to extend its winning streak to six games — its longest of the season so far. The Jumbos held on against a Judges comeback to take game one 5-4 before lighting up multiple Judges’ pitchers in game two for a 28-2 win.

Tufts’ hitters had no trouble seeing the ball this weekend, as they hit .481 with eight home runs over the two games, including a game-two outburst that saw them go 29-for-48, six of which were round-trippers. Junior shortstop Matt Moser was prolific in the middle of the order, going 6-for-8 overall in the series with three consecutive home runs in the second game.

Game two began relatively quietly, but it didn’t stay that way for long. The Jumbos put up eight runs in the top of the second and scored in every inning after that. Moser and first-years Stephan White and Boomer Saraga loaded the bases on consecutive singles with one out in the second frame before senior first baseman James Howard drove home the game’s first run with a base hit to right field.

Sophomore Harry Brown picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases still full, and senior tri-captain center fielder Connor McDavitt broke the game open when he drilled the ball over the left field fence in the next at-bat. The grand slam was Tufts’ first of the season and McDavitt’s second homer. The nightmare inning for Brandeis would not end, though, until after Moser doubled home another pair of runs to secure an 8-0 Tufts lead.

With the Judges’ sophomore starter Liam Coughlin chased after just two innings, the Jumbos only put up one run in the third with a sacrifice fly by sophomore right fielder Oscar Kutch. Facing the third Brandeis pitcher of the game in the top of the fourth, Moser hit the first of his home runs, a solo shot to left. Brown earned another easy RBI several batters later with a bases-loaded walk before McDavitt drove in another run, reaching on an error by Brandeis first-year second baseman Bradley Bousqet.

Moser highlighted the fifth with his second home run, a three-run shot to left center that put the Jumbos up 15-0. The Judges finally got on the board in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single from junior center fielder Liam O’Connor.

But the Jumbos’ onslaught continued into the sixth, with junior first baseman Kevin Godin and senior catcher Will Glazier picking up RBIs on a sac fly and a double to center, respectively, before Moser picked up his seventh and eighth RBIs of the game on his third homer in as many innings.

“I was seeing the ball well yesterday and was able to put some good swings on the pitches I saw,” Moser said. “My approach is to always have a quality at-bat and do my job, so I was happy I was able to drive the ball to help our team.”

Even a second run from the Judges in the bottom of the sixth couldn’t narrow the Jumbos’ margin of victory as the visitors went on to rack up another nine runs in the seventh. First-year third basemen Michael McLaughlin and Brown started the inning with back-to-back solo shots — the first of their careers — which were followed by back-to-back doubles by McDavitt and Kutch.

Glazier and Saraga each drove in a run with a base hit, and McLaughlin and Kutch drove in two more runs each when the lineup came around again to bring the tally to 28-2.

“It feels good putting up that many runs and hitting the ball hard all game, it shows when we stick with our approach good things happen,” Moser said. “Our main goal is to stay consistent and focus on how we play and not on the opponent, but it’s nice knowing we’re capable of putting up a lot of runs.”

All-American senior tri-captain pitcher Kyle Slinger started the game for the Jumbos and turned in a solid five innings, giving up just one run on four hits and two walks to get the win and move to 2-0 on the season.

“My start today was not my best or my worst,” Slinger said. “[It] could have been a lot better. I threw 100-plus pitches on Monday, so I was already throwing on a shorter rest then usual.”

Slinger has made just three starts so far this season, but with a stellar junior campaign that saw him go 9-0 with a 1.18 ERA on his way to becoming D3Baseball.com's New England Pitcher of the Year, coach John Casey will undoubtedly rely on the lefthander to lead his staff.

Senior Willie Archibald and sophomore Speros Varinos came on to throw an inning in relief each, with Archibald giving up a run on two hits and Varinos throwing a nearly perfect seventh inning.

Game one was significantly more competitive. The Jumbos came out swinging and put multiple baserunners on to start the first, with McDavitt coming home on a balk to give his team a lead they would hold the entire game. First-year third baseman Tommy O’Hara followed up with a two-run home run — his second of the season — to right center to build an early 3-0 lead.

Moser and senior catcher Nick Barker tacked on what turned out to be much-needed insurance runs, with an RBI single from Moser in the third and a solo home run from Barker to lead off the fourth.

Junior pitcher Andrew David started for the Jumbos and looked great on the mound through four frames, giving up just one hit and continuing his streak of 27.1 innings without a walk this spring. The Judges showed some life in the fifth, though, scoring four runs on four hits, including a three-run homer from second baseman Luke Zeccola that brought the score to 5-4.

Senior Tom Ryan came on in relief with one out in the fifth and escaped the inning without any further scoring. First-year Zach Brown pitched the final two innings for Tufts, effectively keeping Brandeis’ bats quiet to the first save of his career. David earned the win, moving to 4-0 on the season.

The wins bring the Jumbos’ record to 14-4 this spring, as they have now won 11 of their last 12 games and stand tied for first in the NESCAC East division with a 2-1 conference record. Though Tufts is not currently ranked in the top 25 in the latest Div. III baseball poll, the team did receive 13 votes to make the rankings, the only member in the NESCAC to do so.

The team will be off until Friday when they open a three-game series against Trinity in Hartford.

“Trinity is a good team so we know we’re going to going to have to show up and play hard to beat them,” Moser said. “Our main focus is always on how we play, so at this point we’re getting ready to show up and compete to play good fundamental baseball. Once we get closer to game time, we’ll start to look at Trinity and base some of our preparation on what they do.”

The Jumbos have looked hot recently, and they will look to sweep the Bantams to secure their spot atop the NESCAC East as this season looks as promising as ever.