Box Score 
MEDFORD - Senior 2B Tim Mitropoulos keyed a five-run third inning with a two-run double, and pitchers Christian Sbily and Tom Ryan did not allow an earned run as the Tufts baseball team advanced to the NESCAC Championship final with a 7-1 victory over Bates on Saturday afternoon at Huskins Field.
Facing elimination after a 3-2 loss to Wesleyan earlier in the day, the Jumbos' win over Bates advances them to play Wesleyan in the NESCAC final tomorrow. Tufts (32-6) will have to defeat the Cardinals twice in order to win the conference title. Bates, which staved off elimination by defeating Amherst 4-2 earlier in the day, saw its season end at 20-21.
With his team playing as the visitors in this conference tournament game, Tufts junior CF Connor McDavott saw to it that the Jumbos got off to a quick start. In the top of the first, he led off with a bunt single, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.
Tufts broke the game open against Bates starter Will Levangie in the third. The junior pitcher hit three Jumbos in the inning, including two for rbis by freshman LF Oscar Kutch and junior DH Bryan Egan. Senior catcher Nick Cutsumpas plated another run on a fielder's choice and Mitropoulos hit his two-run double to left-center making it 6-0 Jumbos.
Sbily, who entered the game with a string of 23 straight innings without allowing an earned run, advanced the streak to 28.1 innings. He was touched for an unearned run in the fourth when Bates senior DH Griff Tewksbury walked, took third on a Tufts error and scored on a double-play ball.
Ryan would help Sbily extend the streak in the sixth. He came on with the bases loaded and one out and started a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. Sbily went 5.1 innings allowing three hits and the unearned run with one strikeout and four walks while improving to 6-0.
A series of Bates relievers - Sam Maliska, Samuel Warren, Sam Berry and Connor Colombo - held the Jumbos to just one more run in the final six innings. Cutsumpas walked to lead off the eighth, one of three free passes for Tufts in the inning, and eventually scored on a fielder's choice by senior 3B Wade Hauser.
Ryan allowed just one hit while striking out two in 3.2 innings of relief for his third save.
There were just eight hits in the game, four by each team. Mitropoulos at 2 for 2 was the only player with more than one. Seven Jumbos scored runs, including two by Cutsumpas.
Levangie was the losing pitcher, allowing three hits and six runs with a strikeout and three walks in 2.1 innings. Warren was very impressive hurling four frames of no-hit, no-runs relief. Colombo also blanked the Jumbos over 1.2 relief innings.
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