ASHLAND, VA (March 19, 2025) – The 23rd-ranked Tufts University softball team lost a pair of closely-contested games at #17 Randolph-Macon College today at Carol Estes Park. The Yellow Jackets prevailed 4-3 in eight innings in Game 1, then won 4-3 in Game 2.
The one-run losses drop the Jumbos to 4-8 overall, while Randolph-Macon jumps to 16-2. Tufts had leads in both games, but the Yellow Jackets were able to rally and sweep the double-header.
Tufts will close out its spring break trip with a double-header at third-ranked Christopher Newport University on Saturday.
Game 1 - Randolph-Macon 3, Tufts 2 (8 inn.)
All-American pitchers
Sophia DiCocco for Tufts and Gracie Ellis for Randolph-Macon locked up in a scoreless duel for five innings. Tufts would take a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth when
Lauryn Horita reached second on an outfield error with two outs. She scored when
Heaven Oliva dumped an rbi single into left.
DiCocco and the Jumbos went to the seventh with the 1-0 lead. A Tufts error with Reagan Hill at bat would aid the Yellow Jacket cause. She advanced to third and scored on a two-out single through the right side by Jacy Ramos and the game was tied 1-1.
With the tie-breaker rule in effect for the eighth, Tufts runner
Emma Tonies took third on a passed ball and scored when
Kaitlyn Perucci hit a two-out single to right. That put Tufts up 2-1.
However, in the Randolph-Macon eighth, pinch-hitter Ellie Herndon scored the runner with a single to right to tie the game at 2-2. Pinch-runner Naomi Sadler went to third on a single by Amanda Lanyon and then scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
DiCocco was a tough-luck loser for the Jumbos. She had extended her scoreless innings streak to 16.2 before the Yellow Jacket run in the seventh. She took the loss allowing six hits and one earned run in 7.1 innings. The Jumbos would have just four hits against Ellis, two by Perucci.
Ellis remained unbeaten early in the spring at 9-0 after giving up the four hits and no earned runs in eight innings.
Game 2 – Randolph-Macon 4, Tufts 3
The Jumbos struck for two runs after two were out in the top of the fourth to take the lead. Both outs were made at the plate, but Tufts rescued the inning with rbi singles from
Keriann Slayton and
Emma Wingate.
However, the Yellow Jackets were able to turn the game around with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Charlotte Boswell and Courtney Guthrie hit back-to-back doubles for the first run. Pinch hitter Riley Koscinski then gave Randolph-Macon the lead with a two-run single to right. She would score on another double by Sadler making it 4-2.
The Jumbos closed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out,
Haley Leimbach singled through the right side and took second on a passed ball. She scored on Wingate's second rbi single of the game.
Tufts would put the tying run on second base in the top of the seventh after Perucci had her third hit of the game and was sacrificed over. However, the Yellow Jackets had gone to their ace Ellis and she was able to record the final out for a save.
Sophomore
Fallon O'Connor went the distance for the Jumbos and was good, allowing seven hits and four runs in six innings. Wingate had the two hits and two rbis and Leimbach scored twice to join Perucci as Tufts leaders.
Randolph-Macon's starter Guthrie earned the victory in the circle allowing just one earned run on eight hits in 5.2 innings.
--JUMBOS--
