MEDFORD, MA (April 2, 2023) -- The Tufts University baseball squad finished off a weekend sweep of visiting Bates College Sunday afternoon, starting New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play with three straight wins after a doubleheader sweep with victories of 2-0 and 18-8 Sunday from Sol Gittleman Park.
Game 1: Tufts 2, Bates 0
The first game was swift from the get-go, and it was a tight affair thanks to strong pitching from both squads. The two teams mustered only five total hits in the 1:21 affair, as starters
Connor Podeszwa of Tufts and Sam Hough of Bates were both locked in.
Podeszwa sit the Bobcats down in order in the top of the first, and the Jumbos would waste no time getting on the board as
Ben Leonard walked to lead off the bottom half. Leonard moved to second on a stolen base, and
Patrick Solomon singled to left field to score Leonard just two batters into the inning. Solomon moved around to third base on a ground out and stolen base before
Jackson Duffy lined a single to left field to make it 2-0 in favor of the hosts.
That's all the offense that the Jumbos would need, as Podeszwa allowed just three base runners over the first six innings, none of which would get to second base. Bates never would get a runner into scoring position in game one, as
Brendan McFall came in for his fourth save of the season in the top of the seventh to squelch a lead-off walk by the Bobcats and nail down the win.
Tufts only managed two hits as Solomon was 1-for-2 with a RBI and run scored, while Duffy added his RBI single in three at-bats.
Connor Bowman also was 1-for-2 while also calling a great game behind the plate. Podeszwa moved to 2-2 after he went six innings, allowing just two hits and one walk in addition to his six strikeouts on 90 pitchers. McFall got all three of the batters he faced in game one.
Hough was the tough-luck loser for Bates, scattering three hits along with his three strikeouts.
Game 2: Tufts 18, Bates 8
The bats would come alive for both teams in the second game of the day, as the Jumbos used three big innings to pull away for the victory. Tufts plated four in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a three-run shot over the right-field wall by Leonard. The homer followed a RBI double by Bowman to bring around
Owen McKiernan.
The Bobcats (8-7, 0-3 NESCAC) got right back into the game in the top of the third, as Brandon Biggane doubled with the bases full to bring around three runs to make it 4-3. John Nowak singled in Biggane two batters later to tie the game at four.
The game would stay tied until the bottom of the fifth when Tufts brought around six runs, with the big blast coming on a grand slam from
Connor Flavin to make it 8-4. The Jumbos would add two more in the frame thanks to an error by Bates to take a 10-4 edge to the sixth inning.
Bates would get to with five at 12-7 in the top of the eight after Brennan Kelley cleared the right-field wall on a line shot to score Nowak with two outs in the inning. The Jumbos came right back with another six-running inning in the bottom of the eighth, as
Ozzie Fleischer and Flavin each had two-run singles in the inning to finish the scoring on the day for the hosts.
Tufts pounded out 13 hits and stole nine bases in the second game of the day, as Fleischer finished 2-for-4 with two RBI, three runs and three stolen bases. Solomon finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Leonard was 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs. Flavin drove in a career-high six runs in game two, going 2-for-4, while Bowman was 2-of-4 with two runs and two RBI. Every starter in game two scored at least one run for the Jumbos.
On the mound,
Cameron Mayer came out of the bullpen to toss 5.2 innings of relief for his first win of the season, allowing three hits, four runs and striking out six.
Matt Donato also got the final out of the game for Tufts, and
Silas Reed allowed two earned runs and four hits over three innings as the starter in getting a no decision.
Biggane was 2-for-5 for Bates with four RBI and two runs, while Nowak and Kelley each finished with multi-hit affairs for the visiting Bobcats.
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Tufts (10-5, 3-0 NESCAC) will make the short trip to Cambridge to take on MIT this Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. for non-conference play.
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