COLUMBUS, Ga. (February 28, 2025) – Sophomore
Heaven Oliva hit three home runs in the two games and Tufts University had seven overall as the Jumbo softball team split a pair of games on its first day at the NFCA Leadoff Classic Friday. The Jumbos defeated LaGrange College 8-2, then lost to Gettysburg College 7-4.
Oliva hit home runs in her first two at-bats against LaGrange and finished 3 for 4 with three runs batted in and two runs scored to lead Tufts' 14-hit attack. Senior
Lacy Chilek pitched a solid four innings allowing one run for the win.
Gettysburg got to Jumbo All-American
Sophia DiCocco for eight hits and four runs to build an early 5-2 lead. All of Tufts' four runs in the game would come on home runs, including the first career shots by junior
Emma Tonies and first-year
Cat Kawabe.
Tufts 8, LaGrange 2
Oliva hit bombs in the first and third innings to help the Jumbos earn a 6-1 advantage. Senior Kerriann Slayton went back-to-back with Oliva in the third, then junior
Haley Leimbach and sophomore
Emma Wingate had doubles to score another run. An error by the Panthers brought home Wingate.
Meanwhile, Chilek overcame some early wildness and settled in nicely. She struck out six. Oliva threw out a base-stealer to end Chilek's outing after four. Sophomore
Fallon O'Connor, in her first career outing, threw three scoreless innings for a save. Together Chilek and O'Connor allowed just four LaGrange hits.
Slayton and Leimbach both had three hits for the Jumbos. Junior
Kaitlyn Perucci had two hits including an rbi single in the sixth that capped the scoring.
Junior Claire Chamberlain took the pitching loss for the Panthers (3-6). She went two innings allowing seven hits and four runs.
Gettysburg 7, Tufts 4
A four-run third inning led by a two-run single from first-year Renee Laczkowski propelled the Bullets (2-0) to their second win of the day.
Tufts (1-1) had taken a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second after back-to-back home runs by Kawabe and Tonies.
However, Gettysburg opened the third with a walk and four hits off DiCocco. Junior Lily Mader had an rbi single and senior Carlie Goldstein walked with the bases loaded to score the other runs putting the Bullets up 5-2.
Oliva's third home run of the day pulled Tufts within 6-3 in the fourth. After Gettysburg's Lauren O'Leary homered for a 7-3 margin, Tufts junior
Lauryn Horita homered making it 7-4 in the bottom of the sixth. Tufts would load the bases with two outs as Leimbach and Kawabe singled. However, Gettysburg reliever Paige Gorry fielded a come-backer and got a force at the plate to end the inning.
Senior starter Audrey Wright went 5.1 innings allowing six hits and four runs for her first win of the season. Forry pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief giving up three hits. Gettysburg's 13-hit attack was led by four rbis from Lackowski, three hits from sophomore Audrey Bergan and three runs for O'Leary.
Kawabe's two hits led Tufts, who got five good relief innings from Chilek (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER).
Next
The Jumbos face the #1 and #2 teams in the country tomorrow, East Texas Baptist University at 3 PM and Linfield University at 5:30 PM.
--JUMBOS--
