Despite sleet forecasts that pushed this weekend's series against Trinity back a day, the Tufts baseball team is still ready to try its luck against the first-place Bantams.
The Jumbos come into Saturday's doubleheader as winners of five straight games, including a four-game sweep over Hamilton last weekend. With their confidence at a season-high, there is no better time for coach John Casey's crew to face off against the top team in the division.
"It's nice to have that momentum and have the wind at your back," junior tri-captain pitcher Christian Sbily said. "We've been playing good baseball, and if we can keep doing what we've been doing, we can have a successful weekend."
After hovering around .500 for the first third of the season, the team has been heating up due to strong performances over the past week both on the mound and at the plate.
"Identifying our goals and being in the swing of things have helped us a lot, especially for the younger guys," senior tri-captain Eric Weikert said.
More importantly, however, the Jumbos have been extremely consistent on a day-to-day basis, something that they will have to continue to do if they hope to beat a Trinity team that is looking to finish first in the division for the second year in a row.
"We've realized that we're not good enough to take a day off and just show up," Weikert said. "Every practice day is really important, and as we move further into NESCAC play it's become obvious that if we don't bring our A-game every pitch and every at-bat ... we're going to get beat."
Tufts will look to bring that mentality into their games against Trinity, as both Weikert and Sbily stressed the importance of treating these games like any others and looking past the Bantams' impressive record.
"Trinity is always fun to play, because they're a good team ... and we want to come out and beat them all three games, but in the grand scheme of things every NESCAC game is important," Weikert said. "It's important regardless of your opponent to come out and beat whoever you're playing, because in the end it's only the top two teams in the division that make the playoffs."
Despite the emphasis on downplaying Trinity's talent, there is little doubt that, after being outscored in two losses by 19 last season, the Jumbos will be seeking some revenge.
The key matchup this time around pits the Tufts offense, whose team batting average is second in the NESCAC at .319, against the dynamic Trinity pitching staff, which boasts a league-leading 2.70 ERA across the staff.
Tufts is only 1-3 when they score two runs or fewer this season, so getting on the board early and often will be essential if the Jumbos hope to pull off the upset. Junior leadoff hitter Scott Staniewicz is an important catalyst for Tufts' offense, leading the team in batting average at .397, and is second in runs scored with 19.
Sophomore third baseman Wade Hauser, who hit the team's first home run on April 2 at Brandeis, will also have to continue his strong season, as he has been the main source of run production for the Jumbos with 20 runs scored and 16 RBIs. If Hauser, who knocked three hits and drove in three runs against the Bantams last year, can build on his strong play, the team will have no problem scoring.
"We just can't give Trinity opportunities to beat us," Sbily said. "We need to seize the opportunities to beat them and not beat ourselves."
