ORANGE, CALIF. (March 19, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team blanked Chapman University in another mid week one off at W.O. Hart Park as the Jumbos beat the Panthers 6-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
Jacob Lapp got the ball to start the game, and demonstrated an elevated level of control over his arsenal. The senior starter struck out two batters in the first inning, and it was clear even to a Jumbos fan back in Medford that he was dealing his best stuff.
Lapp was dominant in a way that had not been seen since last year, as he glided through his first time through the order. He allowed only two hits through the first four innings of baseball, and would finish the day with a final line of 7.0 innings pitched, five strikeouts and only four hits allowed, with just one being for extra bases.
The offense had a bit of a slower start to their day, as they went quietly through their first time through the order. Their second time up saw the bats start to click, and they managed to link a few hits together in the fifth, after
Ian Robertson poked a single through the right side of the infield. Leonard worked a walk to keep his on-base streak alive at eleven games, and Robertson reached third on a wild pitch.
Max Pavlik continued to drive in runs in droves as he drove a single to left, scoring Robertson and giving Tufts a 1-0 lead.
The score held behind Lapp, and
Derek Desmarais stepped onto the mound to relieve the starter in the eighth. The rookie dodged a jam in the eighth, escaping a pair of runners in scoring position with a strikeout.
Tufts came to bat again in the top of the ninth with the single goal of burying the dagger into the Panthers. Rookie catcher
Nick Banner set the ball rolling with a leadoff walk, and
Ozzie Fleischer advanced him to second with a base hit. Robertson would reach base on an error to move the two runners ahead of him up a bag. Leonard lifted a fly ball to left field, freeing up Banner to tag up and score from third.
Jesse McCullough worked a walk to keep the traffic on the basepaths at its maximum, and Fleischer came home soon after when Pavlik reached on an error.
Cooper Smith also reached on an error to score McCullough, and
Henry Fleckner dug out an infield single to force a pitching change out of Chapman. Lysko added the sixth and final run by scoring Smith on an error, and the man who started it all,
Nick Banner, grounded out to end the inning.
Desmarais, now pitching with a 6-0 lead, was lights out to send the Panthers packing in the ninth, sitting down three straight pinch hitters to secure the win for the Jumbos.
Tufts will return to action tomorrow at Whittier College in the first of a three game series beginning at 3:00 pm PDT (6:00 pm EDT)
--JUMBOS--
