MEDFORD, MA (May 17, 2024) – The Tufts University softball team will play in the NCAA Regional Finals on Saturday after earning an 8-0 win over St. John Fisher University in six innings on Saturday afternoon.
After losing Game 3 of the Regional to the University of Rochester earlier in the day, the Jumbos faced an elimination game versus St. John Fisher. Senior
Sophia DiCocco pitched a three-hit shutout and the Jumbos advanced.
Tufts will play Rochester in Game 6 of the tournament on Saturday at 11:00 AM. The Jumbos will need to defeat the Yellowjackets then, and again in a Game 7 in order to win the Regional title. Rochester just needs to win once tomorrow.
The Jumbos are now 34-8, while Rochester is 32-7. St. John Fisher's season ended with a 35-7 mark.
NCAA Regional Game 3 – Rochester 5, Tufts 2
Playing as the home team, the Yellowjackets gained the upper hand at the NCAA Regional by scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth to overtake the Jumbos.
Tufts had scored twice in their first at-bat. After
Josie Steinberg walked and
Lauryn Horita singled, they were sacrificed to second by
Rachel Moore. Singles by
Kaitlyn Perucci and
Michelle Adelman scored the runs.
However, those were the only runs Tufts would get. After Steinberg and Horita singled with one out in the second, the Yellowjackets went to the bullpen for junior Lauren Keys. She ended that threat and would go 5.2 scoreless innings.
Adelman had doubles with one out in the third and two outs in the fifth, but the Jumbos could not get her home. Keys was also aided defensively in the top of the fourth after Tufts'
Haley Leimbach led off with a single. Rochester's Jensen Sminchak made a diving catch of a Steinberg line drive to left-center and Savannah Nowak dove to stop a bouncing ball headed up the middle by
Keila McCabe and got a force out at second.
DiCocco and reliever
Sky Johnson threw four scoreless innings until the Yellowjackets rallied to take a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Johnson uncharacteristically walked three in the inning. Rochester's Hannah Keiper and Sminchak had rbi singles, Bailey Nicholoff hit a sac fly and a run scored during a Tufts error on a stolen base.
Steinberg and Horita hit back-to-back singles again in the top of the sixth with two outs, but Keys got a fly ball out. The Yellowjackets added a run on a single by pinch-hitter Loren Castilloux, a sacrifice and an rbi single from Riley Laygo.
Tufts brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, but Keys got a ground ball to end the game as Rochester advanced. The Jumbos left 12 runners on base overall.
Adelman was 3 for 4 with the two doubles for Tufts, while Horita finished 2 for 2 with a run and Steinberg was 2 for 3 with a run. Johnson allowed five hits and four earned runs in 3.2 innings to take the loss.
Laygo went 2 for 3 with a run and an rbi for Rochester.
NCAA Regional Game 5 – Tufts 8, St. John Fisher 0 (6 inn.)
DiCocco, who had shared outings with Johnson in two previous Regional games, took care of business on her own in this one. She allowed three singles and did not walk a batter as the Cardinals were unable to get a runner to second base on her.
Tufts again plated two in the first. Steinberg, who is hitting .818 (9 for 11) in the Regional, led off with a single and stole second. She scored on Perucci's base hit. An error by the Cardinals allowed Perucci to score.
St. John Fisher starter Ainsley Evanetski would quiet the Jumbo bats for the next four innings. However, the Jumbos would rally after two were out to score six times in the bottom of the sixth to end the game by run-rule.
Perucci led off with a double, but Evanetski retired the next two hitters. However, the Jumbos followed with three straight singles by McCabe (rbi),
Keriann Slayton and Leimbach (rbi). Fisher went to the bullpen for Cass Ormond, but Tufts continued as Steinberg singled home a run, Horita doubled in two runs and
Bela Jimenez ended the game with a run-scoring single.
Steinberg went 3 for 4 with two runs and an rbi to lead Tufts, while Horita was 2 for 4 with two rbis and a run. Perucci (2 for 3, two runs, rbi) and McCabe (2 for 3, rbi) were also offensive leaders.
Evanetski ended up allowing nine hits and six runs (five earned) in 5.2 innings.
Watch the Tufts Post-Game Interview Following the St. John Fisher Victory ...
--JUMBOS--
