Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WATERVILLE, Maine – The Tufts University softball swept both games of their doubleheader with Colby College on Sunday, 1-0 and 8-0 (5 innings). The first game of the day was a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East matchup as the Jumbos improve to 5-1 on the season with a 3-0 record in conference play.
In game one, Colby (2-6, 0-3) threatened in the bottom of the second inning as they managed to load the bases on three straight base hits. However, Tufts freshman starter Sophia DiCocco managed to work her way out of the jam. She fielded a ground ball and threw home to get the led runner on a fielder's choice and then got Ashley Ketchum to pop out in foul territory to leave the bases loaded.
The Jumbos got their first base runner on in the top of third inning as Michelle Adelman reached on an infield single. She would advance to second on a ground out and move to third on a single by Emma Della Volpe. Tufts pushed across the only run of the contest on an rbi groundout from Kat Yuzefpolsky. Della Volpe was stranded at third as the Jumbos led 1-0 headed to the bottom of the third inning.
The Mules threatened again in their half of the third with a pair of two-out hits by Amanda Cabral and Logan Luebbe. Payton Crowley would ground out to third base as Tufts got out of the second-and-third situation.
Colby managed to get runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but DiCocco got Luebbe to ground out and keep the score at 1-0 in favor of the Jumbos heading to the sixth. The Mules got a runner to second on a double by Hannah Masterson, but the Tufts defense did not allow her to advance.
The Mules for the third consecutive inning got a runner to at least second base in the seventh as Chloe Wilcox was hit by a pitch and Cabral earned her third single of the day. DiCocco got a ground ball and Tufts forced the final out at second to close out game one by a 1-0 score.
DiCocco (7 IP, 9 H, 0 BB, 1 K) improved to 3-1 on the season with the game-one win. It's her first collegiate shutout. Colby pitchers Crowley and Sam Ahlholm held the Jumbos to just two hits.
Tufts jumped on the board early with three runs in the top of the first inning to start game two. Yuzefpolsky opened the game by reaching on an error and advancing to second on a groundout by Della Volpe. Mia Steinberg walked and Casey Maggiore singled to load the bases. The Mule defense cut down the lead runner on a fielder's choice off the bat of Josie Steinberg. However, Nicole Russo singled to left field to drive home the opening run. Reegan Coleman then singled to drive in two more runs which gave Tufts a 3-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Kristina Haghdan got the Jumbos back to the plate as soon as possible with a 1-2-3 first inning, including a strikeout to open the half-inning and one to close it out.
The Mules threatened heavily in the bottom of the second as Cabral earned a walk to start in the inning. Luebbe recorded a single. Cabral was pinch-run for by Kat Hioe. With runners on first and second, Masterson ripped a double down the right field line. However, the ball was cut off by Coleman and she fired a strike home to cut down Hioe. Haghdan then struck out Olivia Menyo to get out of danger and preserve the three-run lead.
Tufts got a hot start in the third inning as Mia Steinberg doubled to open inning. Maggiore singled and Josie Steinberg doubled to the left-center field gap to push across the fourth Jumbo run. Coleman recorded an rbi groundout to shortstop as the Jumbos added two runs on three hits in their half of the third inning for a 5-0 advantage.
The brown and blue added three more runs in the fourth inning, capitalizing on two Mule errors and a sacrifice fly by Maggiore to go ahead 8-0.
Haghdan (4 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K) earned the win in the eight-run rule five-inning game two. She improves to 2-0 on the season. Kristi Van Meter (1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K) made her second appearance of the season in relief. The senior pair combined to allow just three Colbuy hits. The top offensive numbers for the Jumbos were Coleman's three rbis, three runs scored by Mia Steinberg and two hits and two runs for Josie Steinberg. Maggiore also had two hits.
The Jumbos return to action on Saturday when they host Williams College. First pitch is slated for 1 pm. The Mules will also be in action on Saturday when they host Trinity College in a NESCAC East doubleheader. They are scheduled for a 3 pm start time.
