Baseball Takes Series with Monday Evening Win

MEDFORD, MA (April 14, 2025) - After a night of jubilant celebration in honor of the six graduating seniors, the Tufts University baseball team took the field on Monday evening for a series-deciding game with the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Following an explosive offensive display, the Jumbos came away with the series win with a 10-2 victory.

Senior Jacob Lapp got the start, and threw 7.1 innings that saw him cut down the Polar Bears. He pitched with efficiency and ease, letting his defense do most of the work as he induced weak contact out of a hard-hitting Bowdoin lineup. It was a rocky start for Lapp, however, as the visitors put a run on the board. Lapp fanned the first two batters he faced, before a pitch over the plate was sent over the wall by Kevin Murray.

The Jumbos immediately responded in the bottom of the first with three runs of their own. Jesse McCullough singled down the line to right to lead off the inning and Ben Leonard walked to move him up a bag. James Henshon, the red-hot third baseman finally had a chance with runners on, and made the most of it, smoking a base hit up the middle to drive in the tying run. Cooper Smith followed suit with a base hit to score Leonard, advancing on the throw home to keep the pressure on the Polar Bears. Max Pavlik put an RBI on the board with a ground out to put Tufts ahead 3-1, and the home team was off and rolling. 

Bowdoin scored again in the top of the fifth, but Lapp pitched out of the jam with a fly out to left. McCullough answered with a single down the line to lead off the inning once again, but he didn't have to wait long to come around to score as Leonard homered over the high wall in right field. Pavlik added another run with an RBI to score Smith, and came home to score on a wild pitch. Ozzie Fleischer scored the final runs of the frame with a two-RBI single to right-center field, and the Jumbos now led 9-2.

It was a commanding lead, and Lapp had settled in. He held the Polar Bears scoreless through the remainder of the game, and exited the game with his head held high. Derek Desmarais and Jack Chapleski finished off the game with a pair of uneventful innings to close out the win, but the Jumbos bats had one last message for their Maine-based opponents.

The bottom of the eighth saw Smith single up the middle before coming all the way around thanks to Connor Brala. The Jumbos catcher finally got a pitch to hit after being hit by a pitch in three of his four prior plate appearances, and smoked it down the line to left field. Smith put on the jets to score with ease, and Brala had buried the dagger. Tufts held a 10-2 lead through a one-two-three ninth, and took the series win in their penultimate home game.

The Jumbos will have a day of rest tomorrow before changing gears to face Babson in their final regular season home game on Wednesday at 3:30 pm.