Tufts softball took on Wesleyan in a two-game series this past weekend on Sunday, taking both games with epic offensive displays.
The Jumbos went into the weekend undefeated in NESCAC play, and their opponents would stop at nothing to change that.
In an email to the Daily, junior Kaitlyn Perucci discussed the team’s preparation for the weekend against Wesleyan. “Our team has a very consistent way to prepare for all our games,” she wrote. The team follows a rigorous routine to give themselves the highest chance of success every time they step onto the diamond.
Early on Sunday afternoon, both squads took the field for game one.
The first inning was quiet all around, with no runs scored by either side. The Cardinals quickly upped the volume though, with a massive second inning run putting them up 5–0.
The Cardinals added on one more to extend their lead, and the Jumbos had their work cut out for them as they approached the second half of the game.
Luckily, they had sophomore Heaven Oliva in the lineup, and she homered to get Tufts going in the bottom of the fifth. As Kaitlyn wrote regarding her team’s mentality, they were working “one pitch at a time.”
The following inning saw Tufts gain real momentum in its chase towards the Wesleyan lead. Hits began to string themselves together, and with a triple from graduate student Bela Jimenez and a homerun from junior Lauryn Horita, the team was back within one run of a tie game.
In the bottom of the seventh inning the Jumbos tied it up after an RBI single from Jimenez, but in the top of the eighth the Cardinals answered right back and gained back their lead.
The Jumbos would have one last shot at a comeback win.
Once again, it would be the bat of Oliva that led the charge. She doubled to right center, immediately putting the tying run on second base.
That brought up Horita, and just like the Jumbos it up, she sent the Cardinals packing with a two-run homer to walk it off.
“Piling at home plate to celebrate Lauryn and her walk-off homerun is a moment that we will never forget,” Perucci wrote.
After an adrenaline-filled game 1, the Jumbos and Cardinals lined up to face each other again in game 2.
After a Tufts error in the top of the first inning, Wesleyan led by one in scoring. Despite this, the Jumbos proceeded to strike out only one over the first two innings, as each hitter in the Jumbos’ lineup put bat on ball. The hits were bound to fall in due time.
Taking the score into her own hands to lead off the bottom of the third inning, senior Lindsay Neumann homered to left field to even the score. After two fly balls to Wesleyan outfielders, Perucci smacked a double to left center for her second hit of the game and put Tufts in scoring position for the first time in the game. Senior Keriann Slayton proceeded to trade places with Perucci, smoking a double of her own and giving Tufts the lead.
The Cardinals then amassed two singles to place them in scoring position, but sophomore Fallon O’Connor refused to let an earned run score, striking out back-to-back hitters in the following at bats to give the Jumbos another chance to extend their lead.
Tufts went full steam ahead moving into the bottom of the fourth. RBIs from Neumann, Jimenez and Slayton put four runs on through the inning, and the Jumbos had blown the game wide open, with the score now 6–1 Jumbos.
In the final at bats for the Jumbos in their weekend series, first-year Cat Kawabe led off the inning with a double, and her teammates would quickly drive her in, bringing two more runs after her. The Jumbos secured another win, 9–1.
Discussing their incredible game 1 comeback, Perucci wrote about the Jumbos’ focus on intensity and how their tough opponents throughout the preseason had helped forge their grit. “It taught us how to dig deep,” she said, as the Jumbos displayed a comeback fit for the movies and achieving that took sheer will and collective determination.
After Sunday’s wins the Jumbos remain undefeated in conference play, standing in first place. When asked about what would propel them to more success deeper into the season, Perucci wrote, “As a team, we are really focused on playing as a unit.” In both of their wins, their runs and defensive stops came not from individuals but from the collective efforts of several players. Each of these moments stacked together is what led to their victories.
“We have such a talented group of players,” Perucci said. “And we all have such high expectations for ourselves and our team.” Last year, Tufts softball went all the way to the NCAA Division III tournament, and their current record is on track to propel them to even more success this season.
Plenty of games lie ahead, but the postseason steadily approaches. The weekend showed that you can never count the team out — Tufts softball will never blink when the moment arrives.
