Jumbos miss NESCAC tournament for first time in 17 years

For the first time since 2000,the Jumbos (22-14) failed to qualify for the NESCAC conference playoffs. Nevertheless, the strong performances of multiple first-year players demonstrate that the team’s rebuilding efforts should pay dividends for years to come.

Coach Cheryl Milligan explained that while she was disappointed with the team’s underperformance, there were still many positive takeaways from the season.

“I think we accomplished some things, but certainly from a talent standpoint, [we] underachieved. [We] just really couldn’t get our feet under us this year. [It was] disappointing to say the least,” she said. “But we’ve [had] a good run of things, so, you know, this happens to all teams. I think the battle is fighting against this really, really hard and I’m sure that we’ll be back to do that next year.”

After amassing a 9-5 record during the annual Spring Break trip to Clermont, Fla., the Jumbos won five of their first six games in April. Five straight losses, however -- particularly a three-game sweep at the hands of NESCAC East Division rivals Trinity (19-14) -- depressed Tufts’ chances at a playoff berth. Despite later winning two out of three games against eventual NESCAC East winner Bowdoin (27-8), Tufts failed to put together a run that matched previous years’ successes.

“I think we just didn’t really get off the ground, between the weather and the way that our schedule bounced around,” Milligan said. “With our first real series being against Trinity and [us] not quite being ready with our very rookie staff on the mound, it felt like we’d fight back, and then we’d give up another run, and we’d fight back, and we’d give up another run ... What’s unfortunate is we kind of ran out of fight.”

Rising senior catcher/outfielder Sarah Finnigan stressed that while the frequent rain-enforced cancellations were a source of annoyance, natural causes alone were not to blame for the team’s shortcomings.

“I don’t think the weather really had any effect on our performance,” she said. “It’s obviously a little frustrating when games get moved and there’s rain and you have to go back inside, but in terms of how it affected our play, I don’t think it did that much.”

Statistically, graduating senior tri-captain first baseman Cassie Ruscz was the team’s most dominant hitter. The Wolcott, Conn. native led the NESCAC in home runs (11) for the third consecutive season, and she had more hits (44), walks (19) and RBIs (36) than any other Jumbo.Ruscz finishes her Tufts career with 220 hits in 534 at-bats.The hits total is the second-best sum in program history, while her cumulative batting average (.412) places Ruscz fourth on the Tufts leaderboard. Her 55 career home runs also rank second on the Jumbos’ all-time list.

Two other Jumbos also posted batting averages above .400. Rising senior catcher/outfielder Raven Fournier had the NESCAC’s best batting average (.440) and led Tufts in runs. Additionally, the Springfield, Mass. native ranked 15th in all of Div. III with a .567 on-base percentage.Graduating senior outfielder Maggie Hoffman also contributed to the team’s offensive success, slashing .422/.440/.529 with career highs in hits (43), RBIs (23) and runs scored (24).

“Raven Fournier, for sure, led our team in so many places. [She was] just really even-keeled and had a great year at the plate,” Milligan said. “[Hoffman] had a phenomenal year, [the] best year in her career, which is always great to see as a senior… [She] did a really good job in the outfield [and] did a great job at the plate -- hit for power, hit for average, kind of did the whole nine yards.”

A number of rookies played important roles for the Jumbos. Rising sophomore infielder Jamie Stevens slashed .397/.437/.564 with three home runs and 20 RBIs as Tufts’ everyday third baseman. Meanwhile, rising sophomore pitcher/first baseman Gillian O’Connor led the Jumbos’ pitching staff in appearances (18), games started (14), wins (10), complete games (8) and ERA (2.32).

“Jamie had a fantastic year. I thought she kind of got hot in Florida. [She] maybe had some moments of cooling off and had some games where she struggled -- as did we all -- but I thought she played a fantastic freshman year for sure,” Milligan said. “Gillian started a little bit slower but came around and ended up being what we would consider probably our most successful [and] our number one pitcher this year.”

Six players graduate from the program this spring: Ruscz, Hoffman, tri-captain catcher/outfielder Marly Becker, tri-captain outfielder Carrie Copacino, first baseman Summer Horowitz and utility player Shelby Lipson.

Four Jumbos received end-of-season recognition. Ruscz and Fournier were named to the All-NESCAC First Team, while Hoffman and Stevens earned All-NESCAC Second Team honors. Ruscz was also named to the 2016-17 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team.

Reflecting on the year as a whole, Finnigan struck a hopeful note.

“We’re a group of very talented players. Our season didn’t go as long as [we] had hoped it would, but I have a lot of optimism for the future with this group," she said.