RALEIGH, NC (March 8, 2026) – The Tufts University softball team departs Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday after earning five wins in six games at the Triangle Collegiate Softball Classic.
The Jumbos (5-1) finished the trip today with a strong 6-2 victory over Randolph-Macon College, the #12 team in the NFCA Division III poll. Tufts then had an exciting 8-7 win in nine innings against the University of Lynchburg to cap the weekend.
Tufts 6, Randolph-Macon 2
Junior catcher
Heaven Oliva went 3 for 3 with a home run and two rbis, and first-year
Avery Kanouse was solid in the circle as the Jumbos topped the Yellow Jackets in an early morning game.
Oliva opened the offense with a solo home run to left field leading off the bottom of the second inning.
After Kanouse stranded the bases loaded in the top of the third, Tufts added two more in the bottom of the inning. An infield single by senior LF
Lauryn Horita and another run batted in for Oliva on a single made the score 3-0. It was up to 4-0 in the fourth as first-year Tylor Hurst came through with a two-out single to center field.
Kanouse would go 5.2 innings allowing four hits and two runs to pick up her second victory of the weekend. Randolph-Macon scored their first run on back-to-back singles by Tori Powell and Mya Davis and then a sac fly from Reagan Hill. They closed the gap to 4-2 in the sixth on a solo home run by Ashley Bush.
The Jumbos would add insurance in the bottom of the sixth as senior
Madi Sewell hit the first home run of her career, scoring pinch-runner
Ella McHugh who came in for Oliva after a lead-off single. That put Tufts up 6-2.
First-year
Francesca Colangelo earned her second save with 1.1 innings of one-hit, no-run relief.
Haley Leimbach had two hits at the top of the Tufts line-up.
Alyssa Meharg finished with two of the Yellow Jackets' five hits. Courtney Guthrie took the pitching loss (3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R).
Tufts 8, Lynchburg 7
The Jumbos were less sharp in the second game of the day, but still got the win in exciting fashion. With the tie-breaker rule in play, Tufts scored twice in the top of the ninth and then held off the Hornets for the victory.
Tufts trailed early as Lynchburg's Sarah Watts hit a two-run home run off Tufts starter
Malin Medeiros in the first inning. The Jumbos would tie the score quickly though, as
Kaitlyn Perucci hit a two-run double in the top of the second.
The game would stay close throughout. A single by Leimbach with an error on the play scored two for the Jumbos in the fourth making it 4-2. Lynchburg got one of their own though, as Alex Love scored on a Tufts error.
Murphy smacked the first home run of her collegiate career in the top of the fifth inning for a 5-3 advantage, and the Jumbos would take that lead into the bottom of the seventh. The Hornets would score twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score though. Sarah Watts singled home a run and then scored on a sac fly to tie the game at 5-5.
With runners placed on second to start the extra frames, both teams scored in the eighth inning and the game went to the ninth tied at 6-6. The Jumbos scored twice in the top of the ninth on base hits by newcomers
Taylor Hurst and
Ella Malin to go up 8-6. The Hornets would get one in the ninth, but Tufts freshman pitcher
Sarah Brody retired the last two hitters to close down the win.
Brody earned the pitching victory with five innings of good relief, giving up three hits and no earned runs in five innings. Medeiros had a solid start for Tufts, going four innings allowing four hits and three runs (two earned). Malin finished 3 for 5 with two runs and an rbi in the game as Jumbo first-years made a mark.
Watts went 2 for 5 with three rbis and two runs for Lynchburg. Kate Charlton was the losing pitcher after surrendering three hits and three runs (one earned) in 4.1 innings.
Next
The Jumbos head to Texas next, starting a week there with a pair of games against Bethel University on Sunday, March 15 at Texas Lutheran University.
--JUMBOS--
