Coming off an opening day win against Brandeis, Tufts baseball split a windy doubleheader with Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday. In a six-hour face-off, the Jumbos came away with an 11-inning 14–13 win and a subsequent 8–1 loss.
Silas Reed, a graduate student and right-handed pitcher, took the mound for the first game. In 2024, he posted 75 strikeouts and 70.2 innings pitched across 12 appearances.
He gave up a triple to Eastern Connecticut’s outfielder Ray Leonzi, who then scored an unearned run on a dropped third strike to graduate student catcher Connor Brala. The Warriors’ first baseman Ian Moser homered three batters later, putting the Warriors three runs ahead, but all unearned for Reed.
Reed’s early struggles did not define his outing — he faced 21 batters with a final line of five hits, two walks, eight strikeouts and one earned run across 3.2 innings. After his first start, he had an ERA of 2.45.
The Jumbos immediately responded to the Warriors’ left-handed pitcher Dan Driscoll in the bottom of the first. Senior left fielder Ben Leonard knocked a leadoff double deep to the left field and advanced to third base on a flyout by senior inner fielder Henry Fleckner.
A single by first-year third baseman James Henshon up the middle scored Leonard to cut the Warriors’ lead to two, but another wild pitch to Brala in the top of the second restored the Warriors’ three-run lead.
The Jumbos’ offense broke out in the bottom of the inning with a five-run rally, capitalizing on a lack of control from Driscoll. After a leadoff right-field double from Brala, graduate student shortstop Ozzie Fleischer reached on an error.
Fleischer advanced on a walk by junior second baseman Jesse McCullough, loading the bases for Leonard, who then singled in two runs. A groundout from Henshon scored McCullough and tied the game at four runs apiece.
Senior first baseman Cooper Smith also came up with bases loaded and sent a single to left field to tack on two more runs for the Jumbos and give them a two-run lead.
Driscoll hit sophomore designated hitter Max Pavlik with a pitch, ending Driscoll’s outing with five earned runs over just 1.1 innings pitched.
Though both offenses stayed active, with scoring plays in every inning but the third, neither team broke away with a strong lead. The Jumbos pitching staff protected a narrow lead until the seventh when Warrior shortstop Preston Cosme-Cru homered against sophomore left-handed pitcher Ronan Hwang and gave the Warriors a 12–11 lead. A sacrifice fly by shortstop Michael Hernandez later in the inning added another run.
A double from left field made Leonard’s fifth hit of the day and his sixth time on base. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, a single by Smith was enough to score Leonard yet again and cut the Warriors’ lead to one run. A double to right center by Pavlik scored Smith, tying the game at 13 and sending it to extra innings.
In the 11th, back-to-back singles by Smith and sophomore designated hitter Ian Robertson put Smith in scoring position. A single by Abraham scored Smith, securing a second consecutive win for the Jumbos.
Pitchers Mark Herlihy, Landon Meng and Derek Desmarais held the Warriors to two hits in a combined five innings, with Desmairis securing his first win of the season. Only seven of the Warriors’ 14 runs were charged as earned runs against Tufts.
Following the thriller walk-off, the Jumbos sent right-handed senior Connor Podeszwa to start the second game. Podeszwa put up a 5.48 ERA in 2024, striking out 46 in 42.2 innings pitched.
The Warriors again struck in the first, with an RBI triple by left fielder Alejandro Soriano giving them an early lead.
Leonard answered with a leadoff homer to set the game even, but Eastern Connecticut held Tufts to seven hits and a single run, striking out five.
Podeszwa took seven of the Jumbos’ 10 strikeouts but gave up nine hits and three earned runs, taking the first loss of the season. Starting pitcher Alex Mach earned the win for Eastern Connecticut, giving up six hits over seven innings.
Leonard finished the day going 7–9 with seven hits and two RBI. He and Smith started off the season especially strong, both maintaining a .500 average after five games played. Smith has four RBIs and 13 hits, while Leonard boasts 12 hits, including six extra-base hits.
When asked about the team’s goals, Hwang wrote in a message to the Daily, “We just have to continue to get better everyday and stay healthy. A goal for us would be to win the nescac and also win the NCAA’s.”
Tufts dropped three subsequent games to Wheaton College, Johnson & Wales University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Over the break, the Jumbos will take their talents to the West Coast for an eight game trip, beginning with a three game series against No. 10 Pomona-Pitzer this weekend.
