Hartford, Conn. – The visiting Tufts University Jumbos used a three-run fifth inning to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead and went on to win, 9-5, against the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East Division baseball action this afternoon. Trinity falls to 14-10 overall and 5-2 in the NESCAC East with its second setback in a row, while Tufts improves to 14-7 overall and 2-2 in the division and extends its winning streak to six games. The seven-inning game was the first of a scheduled doubleheader, but the nightcap was suspended after nine innings with the teams knotted at 3-3. The teams will finish the tie game tomorrow at noon at Trinity, followed by the final game of the three-game series.
Trinity scored first in game one, as senior OF Alex Almeida (Bridgeport, Conn.) doubled to lead off the bottom of the first inning, senior captain 1B Joe Papa (Stoneham, Mass.) walked, and sophomore Robert Ferrara (Fairfield, Conn.) singled to load the bases with one out. Senior OF Marc Crowley (Andover, Mass.) delivered with a two-run double for a 2-0 Bantam lead after one frame, and Trinity sophomore 3B Adam Moossmann (East Northport, N.Y.) singled and scored on a base hit by senior captain OF Michael Rueger (Teaneck, N.J.) in the second inning. Tufts got one run back in the third inning on a double by sophomore Nick Barker (Weymouth, Mass.) and a sacrifice fly by senior Scott Staniewicz (Boca Raton, Fla.).
The Jumbos took advantage of two Trinity errors in the fifth inning, scoring three runs on an RBI single by sophomore Connor McDavitt (Holden, Mass.) and a three-base error in the outfield that plated two Tufts baserunners. Leading, 4-3, the Jumbos added two runs in the sixth inning on a two-out, two-run double by Staniewicz, but the Bantams scored in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Cam Armstrong (New Canaan, Conn.) scored on a wild pitch.
Tufts junior Max Freccia (Stamford, Conn.) singled with one out in the top of the seventh and later scored on a hit batsman, and McDavitt doubled with two outs to highlight a three-run inning. Trinity scored once in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Crowley and an RBI groundout by senior Evan Sternberg (Glen Ridge, N.J.), but Jumbo rookie reliever Matt Moser (Great Falls, Va.) recorded the last out on a fly ball to record a save. Tufts sophomore LHP Kyle Slinger (Danville, Calif.) earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing seven hits and five walks with two strikeouts. Bantam junior RHP Peter Burrows (Floral Park, N.Y.) took the loss despite giving up only two hits in five innings. He struck out seven but had five free passes.
The second game, scheduled for nine innings, went the distance, as Trinity sophomore Sean Meekins (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and Tufts junior Dean Lambert (Cross River, N.Y.) each allowed three runs and two earned runs over 7.2 innings of work before yielding to relievers. Tufts scored its three runs on an error in the first inning, and RBI single by freshman Mike Barry (Sudbury, Mass.) in the third inning, and the tying run in the eighth inning on a two-out, bases-loaded walk by Staniewicz. Trinity scored on a two-out RBI single by sophomore Scott Huley (Greenwich, Conn.) in the first inning, and twice in the second inning on a Tufts error and an RBI single by freshman C Scott Cullinane (East Greenwich, R.I.). Tufts sophomore reliever Tom Ryan (Walpole, Mass.) and Trinity freshman RHP Dylan Callahan (Greenwich, Conn.) both pitched out of jams in the final two innings including a bases-load strikeout to end the top of the eighth by Callahan.