After winning its first nine conference games of the season, the baseball team knew it stacked up well against NESCAC East competition. In Tuesday's game against Wesleyan, Tufts got its first chance to see how it measures up against the West.
The Jumbos passed the test with flying colors, taking an early lead over the Cardinals en route to a 5-1 victory. Tufts is now 20-5-1 on the season, and a perfect 7-0 at Huskins Field.
Senior outfielder David Orlowitz led the way for the Jumbos, both at the plate and in the field. The Wakefield, Mass., native went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles in the first two innings that helped Tufts to a 4-0 advantage. Orlowitz also made several running catches in centerfield, setting the tone for a strong overall defensive performance.
On the pitching side, seniors Derek Miller and Pat O'Donnell combined for six scoreless frames. Miller, the starter, allowed just one hit and struck out a pair in his two innings. O'Donnell then followed suit with four shutout frames, allowing two hits and recording five strikeouts.
Freshmen Christian Sbily and Dean Lambert worked the seventh and eighth, respectively. The former allowed an unearned run, while the latter pitched a scoreless frame, with each earning a strikeout. Senior Ed Bernstein finished things off, needing just nine pitches to work around a one-out single and slam the door in the ninth.
Though the pitching staff recorded a strikeout per inning, it also benefited from stellar outfield play. Senior Ian Goldberg made the play of the game, sprinting deep down the leftfield line and reaching out to catch a line drive to take an extra-base hit away from Wesleyan junior Noah Feingold.
O'Donnell earned the win, improving to 3-0. Freshman Chase Levi took the loss for Wesleyan, and is now 1-2 on the year.
See Thursday's Daily for a full recap of the Jumbos' 20th victory of the season.
