Heading into the NCAA Tournament New England Regional, the softball team appeared to be in good position to contend for its first berth in the College World Series since 2000.
On May 4, the Jumbos successfully defended their conference championship with a 10-3 victory over Wesleyan in the NESCAC title game, their sixth win by five runs or more in their last eight games. Four days later, the team carried that momentum into the Providence, R.I. regional bracket, where it had earned the No. 2 seed.
That's when Tufts ran into Jennifer Martinez.
St. Joseph's record-breaking ace pitcher brought her NCAA-leading 0.47 ERA into two double-elimination tourney contests against the Jumbos and shut them down, downing Tufts 3-0 in eight innings on May 10 and 3-1 later that weekend to end the Jumbos' season shy of a trip to Salem, Va.
"She's probably the best pitcher that our team has ever seen," senior co-captain Danielle Lopez said. "We were really disappointed in the fact that we couldn't get past her. It's still kind of shocking to think that our season is over because we had such a great team, and we had such high hopes, but props to her for beating one of the best offensive teams in the nation."
After beginning the tournament with a 6-3 win over seventh-seeded Rivier, the Jumbos moved on to their first meeting against Martinez, who entered the game having assembled arguably the most dominant season by any pitcher in the history of Div. III softball: a 30-2 record, 202.1 innings pitched, 17 shutouts and an NCAA-record 465 strikeouts.
Against Tufts, the Golden Eagles' senior tri-captain stayed true to form, limiting the Jumbos to just one hit - a bunt single by junior third baseman Samantha Kuhles in the bottom of the first inning - while striking out 15.
"She had a very, very effective rise ball, in the zone and out of the zone, and a really great late-breaking curveball," coach Cheryl Milligan said. "We needed to find some ways to eke some runs out against her, but she certainly stymied our ability to do what we're used to doing."
Freshman pitcher Izzie Santone kept Tufts in the game, matching the St. Joseph's senior co-captain zero for zero through the first seven frames and sending the contest to extra innings. But in the eighth, the Golden Eagles finally solved the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, putting together a three-run rally that was more than enough for Martinez, who overcame two walks in the home half of the eighth to secure the victory.
Martinez's first-inning punch-out of junior designated player Cara Hovhanessian was the 1,126th of her career, giving her the all-time Div. III strikeout record. Hovhanessian finished the day 0 for 3, snapping her 13-game hitting streak.
The loss forced Tufts into the losers' bracket of the tournament. In the team's first elimination game, a matchup with fourth-seeded and familiar foe Wellesley, the Jumbos prevailed 5-1 thanks to a dazzling pitching performance by junior lefthander Lauren Gelmetti.
Nearly five weeks after tossing a six-hitter against the Blue during the regular season, the reigning NESCAC Pitcher of the Week was even better on May 10, hurling a complete-game three-hitter for her team-leading 11th win of the season.
The victory put the Jumbos in another do-or-die situation, this time in a rematch against Martinez's St. Joseph's squad. Early on, the game resembled the teams' first meeting earlier that day - Martinez was mowing through the Tufts lineup, taking a perfect game into the fifth inning, while her counterpart, sophomore Stefanie Tong, kept the Golden Eagles at bay with four shutout innings.
But things fell apart for Tong in the fifth. With two outs and a runner on second, the knuckleballer intentionally walked Martinez, who in addition to her pitching dominance, entered the tournament boasting an NCAA-leading .622 average in 82 at-bats this season.
St. Joseph's coach Al Sciangula countered the move by sending up pinch hitter Caitlin Forbes, who had amassed no home runs and one RBI all season. But Forbes delivered, belting a back-breaking three-run shot that chased Tong and gave the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead.
"We had an empty first base, so the decision to walk Martinez was an easy one," Milligan said. "Then, when they pinch-hit, we thought, 'Nobody's ever seen a knuckleball pitcher before, and I'll take Tong's chances against anybody their first time facing her.' This time, it just didn't work out."
Martinez finally wilted on the mound in the bottom of the fifth, surrendering back-to-back doubles to Lopez and fellow senior co-captain Megan Cusick to break up her perfect game and shutout bids and cut the Jumbos' deficit to 3-1.
After the frame, however, the game was suspended due to darkness, a bad break for a Jumbos team that was beginning to solve Martinez.
"People were starting to hit it hard, they were seeing the ball and walking, so we were coming around," Lopez said. "It's just disappointing that we couldn't capitalize on that or play seven innings at once because you can't really pick up momentum in as little time as two innings."
When play resumed again on the morning of May 11, Tufts mounted another threat, this time in the seventh inning. With two outs and nobody on, Martinez walked the bases loaded, bringing sophomore shortstop Casey Sullivan to the plate. But Martinez caught Sullivan looking at a called third strike to end the game - and the Jumbos' season at 30-11.
Despite the unfortunate ending, Tufts isn't looking back on its season with any regrets.
"We had a successful season by almost any measure," Milligan said. "We certainly had goals to go a little further, as we did last year, but it's just not always to be. You're playing championship ball against some of the best teams in this part of the country - things happen. We didn't quite get to be the World Series team that we wanted to be, but that's the way it goes."
