Box Score
MEDFORD, Mass. - Tufts University senior right-hander Allyson Fournier (South Windsor, Conn.) threw the fifth perfect game and 13th no-hitter of her career to lead Tufts University to a sweep of Bates College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference doubleheader at Spicer Field.
Fournier struck out 13 in the five inning affair to lead the Jumbos to an 8-0 victory. She struck out the first 10 batters she faced before the Bobcats' Karen Lockhart (Jr., East Greenwich, R.I.) popped out harmlessly to first on a bunt attempt. The only other ball in play was also a fifth inning bunt attempt that resulted in an out.
Fournier got all the runs she would need in the first inning as Carrie Copacino (So., Newton, Mass.) lead off the inning with a base on balls. After stealing second, Gracie Marshall (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif.) singled to right to plate Copacino.
The Jumbos added another run in the third when with two outs Michelle Cooprider (Sr., Hopkinton, Mass.) singled and advanced on a passed ball. Raven Fournier (FY, Springfield, Mass.) singled through the left side to score Cooprider.
Tufts blew the game open in the fourth with a six-run inning. The big blast came off the bat of Raven Fournier (FY, Springfield, Mass.) who homered deep over the left field fence for the final three runs of the stanza. Earlier in the inning with one out Christina Raso (Jr., Burlington, Mass.) doubled to right center, Copacino walked and Marsh doubled to left center scoring Raso. A Cassie Ruscz (So., Wolcott, Conn.) single up the middle scored both Capocino and Raso. Cooprider followed with a single through the left side before Fournier's home run.
Tufts pounded out 11 hits in just four innings in the first game with Copacino, Marsh, Ruscz, Raven Fournier and Raso having two hits each. Fournier drove in four runs.
Allyson Fournier improved her record to 11-0 in 2015 with Brenna Callahan (Sr., Milton, Mass.) taking the loss.
The nightcap was a much tighter affair with the Jumbos coming from behind for an 8-5 victory. Tufts again scored early taking a 1-0 lead in the first on a triple by Bri Keenan (Sr., Portsmouth, N.H.). Ruscz singled to right to score Keenan with the first of her three runs of the game.
Bates tied the game in the top of the second as Tori Fitzgerald (FY, Holliston, Mass.) singled through the left side followed by a Paige Ahlholm (FY, North Andover, Mass.) infield single. Marina Barsoum (Jr., Newark, N.J.) moved the runners over on a fielder's choice, and Fitzgerald scored on a fielding error by the Jumbo third baseman.
In the third the Bobcats plated two, as Jenney Abbott (So., Rangely, Maine) was hit by a pitch from Tufts' Erica County (Jr., Arlington, Mass.). Maddie Inlow (So., Falmouth, Maine) singled moving Abbott to second/. Fitzgerald gounded out to third moving the runners into scoring position. An Ahlholm double to right centerfield scored the go ahead runs. County ended the threat with a called third strike on Barsoum.
The Jumbos wasted little time in coming back with a four-run third. Marsh opened the inning with a single to left, and with one out Cooprider stroked a single to centerfield. Summer Horowitz (So., Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) reached on an error advancing the runners. Shelby Lipson (So., East Brunswick, N.J.) drove in two with a single. Sara Wilner-Giwerc (FY, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) attempted a sacrifice bunt that Bates pitcher Kelsey Freedman (Sr., Falmouth, Maine) overthrew to first base, advancing Wilner-Giwerc all the way to third and scoring both Lipson and Horowitz.
Tufts increased the lead in the fourth as Keenan walked and stole second. She moved to third on a groundout by Marsh and scored on a grounder by Ruscz. Bates pulled within one in the top of the sixth as Freedman reached on a fielder's choice with one out. Lockhart drove a shot between the legs of County, moving Freedman to second. Kira Shaikh (Sr., Manchester, Conn) had an infield single to load the bases before Abbott lined a single to center scoring two.
It took Tufts little time to answer as the Jumbos plated two of their own in the bottom of the stanza. Copacino walked and stole second. Keenan reached on an error by the third baseman. Marissa Heyer (So., Emerson, N.J.) singled to centerfield and advanced to second on the throw to the plate that pulled the Bates catcher up the third baseline. The ball got away and both Copacino and Keenan scored.
County surrendered a harmless single in the top of the 7th en route to her ninth win of the season against no losses. Freedman's record dropped to 2-7. Shaikh and Ahlholm each were 3-4 for the Bobcats, while Lipson had three hits for Tufts. Cooprider and Raso each had a pair of base knocks for the Jumbos.
Tufts (20-0, 4-0 NESCAC East) is scheduled to put its number one ranking on the line when the Jumbos travel to Bridgewater State on Wednesday for a scheduled 3:00PM start. Bates (2-15, 1-6 NESCAC East) is idle until next Saturday when the Bobcats will face Hamilton at Tufts at 3:30 PM.
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