Tufts softball traveled to Middletown, Conn. on Saturday to take on Wesleyan University in a NESCAC doubleheader. Riding shutdown pitching and hot bats, the Jumbos took both games in commanding fashion and improved to 26–5 on the season with a 12–2 record in NESCAC play. The latter is good for a four-game lead in the conference.
In game 1, the Jumbos’ offense took a couple innings to get going, but fifth-year shortstop Josie Steinberg drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the third. The big blow came in the fourth when the Jumbos put up a five-spot to stretch the lead to 6–0. Four of those five runs were unearned, as the Jumbos took advantage of defensive miscues by Wesleyan. Steinberg, fifth-year third baseman Rachel Moore and sophomore designated player Lauryn Horita all had RBIs in the inning. Junior catcher Keriann Slayton drove in fifth-year outfielder Michelle Adelman with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to make it 7–0, and that score would hold.
Junior pitcher Sky Johnson took the ball for the Jumbos in the opener and was lights out. Over six innings of work, she held the Cardinals to no runs on five hits while striking out seven with no walks. Sophomore pitcher Claire Guitmann closed the game with a scoreless seventh, giving the Jumbos a shutout win to start the day. During the game, Johnson recorded her 300th career strikeout, making her just the fourth Jumbo in school history to reach that milestone. She had been tracking her progress towards that number in the lead-up to the game.
“I was trying to hit [300 strikeouts] in our MIT game, our midweek game that I played last week, and I was three away,” Johnson said. “I really wanted to [get all three] strikeouts in the first inning. That didn’t happen, but everyone was excited for me. I think I had the biggest smile on my face after I got that third strikeout.”
With the win, Johnson improved to 11–1 on the season, and her performance earned her NESCAC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Johnson has been outstanding all year for the Jumbos, with a 0.49 ERA and 0.67 WHIP with 84 strikeouts and just six walks in 85 and two-thirds innings of work. Opponents are batting just .169 against her, and she’s only allowed seven extra-base hits all season. She credits her positive mental approach for her success.
“The biggest difference that I’ve noticed in myself from my last two years and this year is I’m just having more fun,” Johnson said. “This year, I’ve taken the approach of whatever happens will happen. I’ve worked really hard [and] I’ve done all I can do. I’m just going to show up to the game, have fun with my friends and do my best.”
In the second game, the Jumbos’ offense set the tone early, scoring runs in each of the first four innings. Horita got the scoring started with a solo shot in the first. Senior second baseman Bela Jimenez drove senior left fielder Keila McCabe with an RBI single in the second, her first of three hits in the game. Sophomore right fielder Kaitlyn Perucci added to the lead with a solo homer of her own in the third. The Jumbos scored two more runs, one of which was unearned, in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk from Perucci and a sac fly from Adelman to extend the lead to 5–0. Sophomore first baseman Haley Leimbach and Jimenez both had RBI singles in the top of the seventh to add on and make it a 7—0 game. The Cardinals first and only run of the day came in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single from pitcher Revi Brown, but that was all they could muster, as the Jumbos took game 2 by a score of 7–1.
When the offense is humming like it was on Saturday, it creates a positive feedback loop for the pitchers, who can throw more freely with the lead.
“Knowing that we have a lead [and] that we’re hitting takes a huge weight off of all of the pitchers’ shoulders when we’re pitching, and we can pitch more loose and have more fun,” Johnson said.
Senior pitcher Sophia DiCocco started in the circle for Tufts in the second game and shut down the Wesleyan offense, allowing only one run in six and one-third innings. Junior pitcher Lacy Chilek closed the game by recording the last two outs of the game, securing the Jumbos’ sweep of the doubleheader.
In addition to offense and pitching, the Jumbos had a decided advantage on defense, as they played two error-free games while the Cardinals made three errors in the two games, leading to five unearned runs. That solid defense is another confidence booster for pitchers.
“It’s a huge momentum shifter when we’re on defense and the other team thinks they got a good hit and then we squash that immediately,” Johnson said. “It feels great when I’m pitching and I have that defensive backup.”
With the end of the season nearing and the Jumbos’ commanding lead in the conference standings, the natural tendency is to look ahead and start planning for the playoffs. Still, the team is trying to stay focused on the next game without getting too far ahead of themselves.
“[We know] that the postseason is really close, and that’s the most fun time of the year. We don’t have school, we’re just playing softball with our friends [and] we get to be in the sun,” Johnson said. “Making sure that we’re focusing on getting done what we need to get done in each practice, in each game, and just getting better each day so we’re prepared for those games is super important.”
The Jumbos have two more road doubleheaders coming up this week against Brandeis University on Wednesday and against Colby College on Saturday.
