Medford, Mass. - Trinity College Bantam pitchers Sean Meekins (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and Ben Goldberg (Plainview, N.Y.) limited the Tufts University batters to one hit in seven innings during game one, and the visiting Bantams overcame a 6-0 deficit in game two to sweep a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East Division baseball doubleheader this afternoon at Huskins Field. Scores were 7-1 and 8-7. With a win on Friday afternoon as well, Trinity swept the weekend series over the Jumbos and improves to 18-5 overall and 6-0 in the NESCAC East. The Bantams have won 11 games in a row. Tufts, ranked No. 17 in the nation, falls to 12-6 and 3-3.
A pair of Jumbo miscues helped Trinity get started in game one with a five-run first inning. Three of the runs off Jumbo sophomore pitcher Christian Sbily (Gaithersburg, Md.) were unearned. Bantam freshman 2B Kyle Decker (Simsbury, Conn.) helped the cause with an RBI double. The Jumbos got one back in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by junior RF Eric Weikert (Avondale Estates, Ga.) which proved to be the only Jumbo hit of the game. Meekins went 5.1 innings allowing the one run with three strikeouts and four walks to improve to 4-0 on the year. Goldberg finished up with 1.2 innings of no-hit relief. Sbily held the margin at 5-1 through the fourth, but Trinity added two more on a single by senior C Luke Auger (Avon, Conn.) that plated a pair. He finished with two of Trinity's eight hits, as did junior SS Stephen Rogers (Watertown, Mass.) and freshman 1B Bryan Wolfe (LaHabra Heights, Calif.). Rogers and Wolfe both scored a pair of runs.
In game two, freshman CF Connor McDavitt (Holden, Mass.) led off with a single and scored on another rbi hit by Weikert. The Jumbos then struck for five in the second to chase Trinity freshman starter Robert Gau (Westport, Conn.). Senior RF Matt Collins (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Weikert both singled home runs and scored in the Jumbo second. Trinity narrowed the margin to 6-2 with a pair in the third. Junior LF Michael Rueger (Teaneck, N.J.) doubled home a run and scored. Sophomore reliever Ryan Carr (Cos Cob, Conn.) settled in nicely for the Bantams, keeping Tufts from scoring in the third through fifth innings.
The Bantams pulled within 6-4 with a pair in the fourth, including a single by freshman 3B Adam Moossmann (East Northport, N.Y.), who later scored on a wild pitch. A solo home run by senior tri-captain catcher Kevin Mortimer (Spencer, Mass.) to lead off the fifth made it a one-run game. Weikert continued his productive afternoon with a solo home run off Carr that gave Tufts a 7-5 advantage in the sixth. However, the Bantams answered with a two-run shot from Rogers that tied the score 7-7 in the seventh. Decker then led off the top of the eighth with a single, was sacrificed to second and scored on a base hit by junior RF Marc Crowley (Andover, Mass.) to push the Bantams in front, 8-7. Collins hit a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth for the Jumbos, but sophomore RHP Peter Burrows (Floral Park, N.Y.) came on for the Bantams and kept him there with a groundout. After the Bantams went 1-2-3 in the ninth, the Jumbos had the potential tying run on second when Burrows got a strikeout to end the game.
Mortimer finished 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI in game two for Trinity, which had 12 hits. Moossmann went 3-for-4. Carr earned the win in relief, going 6.1 innings and allowing nine hits and two runs with five strikeouts and no walks. Burrows got four outs for the save. Tufts' Weikert finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs in the nightcap. The Jumbos had 14 hits in the game. Freshman 2B Joe Harrington (Burke, Va.) was 3-for-5 with a run, while Collins went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Senior Kevin Gilchrist (Medford, Mass.) took the loss in relief.