Jumbos Swept by Mules in Doubleheader

WATERVILLE, MAINE (April 25, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team dropped both halves of the road doubleheader at Colby College on Friday.

The Jumbos (13-19, 5-6 NESCAC East) found themselves down early to the Mules (18-11, 6-4 NESCAC East) as the home side plated four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The seven innings of game one gave the visitors very little time to mount a comeback.

They would not manage to put a run across until the top of the seventh inning. Connor Brala wore a pitch to reach first base from the leadoff spot in the frame. Max Pavlik singled right after to move the catcher up into scoring position. Ozzie Fleischer battled through an extended at-bat to earn a walk, loading up the bases. Owen McKiernan stepped up and poked a dribbler to the left side of the infield, giving Brala ample time to score. Pavlik came around to score as well as the throw to second leaked through to the outfield, but it would be too little too late as they dropped game one 4-2.

Game two saw Tufts strike first. Henry Fleckner led the game off with a single, and waited a few pitches before jogging home thanks to a home run by Leonard. Leonard's team-leading seventh homer of the season put the Jumbos up by two, but their lead was halved by the end of the first. 

After the opening hiccup, starter Connor Podeszwa settled in for the next few innings. The offense helped him out as they put up three runs in the top of the fourth. Fleischer reached on a fielder's choice to score Pavlik to go up 3-1, and the Jumbos took advantage of an error to score two more for the 5-1 lead. The Mules answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth which the Jumbos deftly responded with by plating a run in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of another Colby error.

The game unraveled after Colby scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh, adding to their one run in the bottom of the sixth. They added a ninth run in the bottom of the eighth inning to bury the dagger and lead 9-6. 

The Jumbos fall to 13-19 on the year, but will look to get one back on the Mules with the regular season finale on Sunday at 1:00 pm, weather permitting.