In its first 17 games, the softball team has traveled to the West Coast and back, recorded four shutouts, five mercy-rule victories and three NESCAC East wins, emerging on the winning side of every single game.
And if Tuesday was any indication, the Jumbos don't intend on slowing down anytime soon. Tufts began what will be a stretch of nine games in six days with a home sweep over visiting Springfield College at Spicer Field Tuesday, making up the two rainouts in grand fashion by taking the first game in seven innings, 4-0, and mercy-ruling the Pride in the nightcap, 11-1.
In the latter contest, Springfield jumped out on the board early, plating leadoff hitter senior co-captain Angela Atkins in the top half of the first frame. But Tufts responded in kind, exploding for five runs in the bottom of the first. After senior quad-captain Roni Herbst grounded out to begin the inning, the Jumbos pounded out three hits and four runs to chase the Pride's freshman starter Megan Fitzgerald after just a third of an inning. Her replacement, sophomore Katie Anderson, did not fare much better, yielding six runs over her two innings of work.
After the opening run, Tufts starter Lauren Gelmetti settled down to earn her seventh win of the season. The senior scattered three hits over four innings and struck out five, and junior Stefanie Tong then worked a no-hit fifth to close out the contest and secure the early exit for Springfield.
Senior Maya Ripecky and junior Christy Tinker led the rout of the Pride on the offensive end, combining for five hits, four runs and seven of Tufts' nine RBIs. Seven of the nine positions in the batting order recorded a hit, as the Jumbos scored at least one run in all four innings they came to the plate.
"They scored first, but I don't think there was a doubt in anyone's mind that we would come back," senior tri-captain Cara Hovhanessian said. "Even if we do fall behind, we know that the entire lineup can and will get hits. I don't think anyone gets worried."
While the first game against Springfield was the first time since March 20 that the Jumbos did not win in five innings, the victory nonetheless exemplified the factors that have helped propel Tufts to its current undefeated record.
Aided by timely hitting and lockdown pitching, the Jumbos used a late rally to surge past the Pride 4-0 behind the arm of sophomore pitcher Izzie Santone. Santone pitched her third shutout of the season in the first game, allowing just five hits, while striking out four and walking two Springfield hitters, to improve to 8-0 on the season. Santone, in 50 innings of work thus far this season, has a 0.54 ERA and has struck out more than seven times as many batters (22) as she has allowed earned runs (three).
"The offense knows that the pitchers won't give up a lot of runs and that they'll get batters to hit their pitch," Hovhanessian said. "But at the same time, [the pitchers] know that if they give up a run, we'll get it back. It works both ways on this team, and I think that's really good because it helps us become confident on both sides of the ball. I couldn't have asked for anything more from the pitchers today."
Whenever the Pride threatened to cut into the Tufts margin, Santone was there to halt the rally. In the top of the sixth, senior Amanda Lyons smacked a one-out double followed by a walk to junior Michelle Wlosek, but Santone got the last out on a weak grounder to the pitcher's circle. In the seventh, likewise, Springfield put two runners on base, but Santone induced a foul-out to end the game.
Were it not for some clutch hitting by the Jumbos, however, Santone's gem might have gone to waste. The game was scoreless entering the bottom of the fourth inning, when Ripecky reached base with two outs on a hit-by-pitch. Senior Danielle Lopez then followed with an RBI double to right field, giving Tufts and Santone the margin they needed to secure the win.
"We were a little slow to get started for the first game," Hovhanessian said. "It wasn't because we weren't up for it, but because the pitcher was one of the better ones we've faced all year. Going into the second game, we had a lot of confidence and we knew that it didn't matter who we were facing."
Junior Casey Sullivan tacked on insurance in the fifth, blasting a solo home run just over the wall in left field. Not to be outdone by her classmate, Tinker went deep in the following frame to put Tufts up 3-0. The Jumbos then added another in the sixth inning with a single by freshman Lena Cantone, pushing the lead to the final margin of victory. Lopez and Ripecky each had two hits in the effort, with Ripecky scoring two of Tufts' four runs.
"I think we just made the necessary adjustments in the second game," Ripecky said. "We hadn't seen a lefty pitcher before, so it's different to see the ball coming out from that angle. But I think we did a really great job seeing the pitches we wanted and jumping on them."
Still, with a weekend doubleheader at NESCAC East rival Trinity (9-7, 2-1 NESCAC) looming after a Thursday road contest with non-conference opponent Bridgewater State, the Jumbos are anything but complacent with their perfect record and gaudy statistics, especially this early in the season.
"The fact that we're so experienced and have so many upperclassmen helps us not get lazy, and we're not going to let that happen at all," Hovhanessian said. "When we see signs of that, we have to pick each other up and help improve things."
"It's important that we try not to focus on our record and not put emphasis on the fact that we're undefeated," Ripecky said. "We just look ahead to the games that are ahead and take it like that. We know that we won't be completely perfect, so there's always something to work on. Almost half of our team is seniors and four juniors, so it's nice to have all of that experience under our belts so that we can know how we want things done and guide the others."
