Teams: Softball: Press Releases

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

JUMBO SOFTBALL SET TO MAKE 10TH NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE

NCAA Div. III Championships Information

MEDFORD -- With the regular season and conference tournament now behind them, the Tufts University softball team is right where it wants to be in this highly-anticipated 2008 season. The Jumbos endured a few bumps along the way, but have positioned themselves in the NCAA Tournament as the defending New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion. Tufts enters the NCAA Regional's as the second seed and will play Rivier College in its first game on Friday (May 9) at Rhode Island College (RIC) in Providence. Game time is 2:00.

Senior 2B Danielle Lopez connects on a three-run home run in the NESCAC final against Wesleyan (photo by Ron Bernstein)

The Jumbos bring a 28-9 record into the NCAA's. They won the NESCAC East Division with an 11-1 mark and then earned the program's fifth overall NESCAC title last weekend (May 2-4). They defeated host Wesleyan University in the seventh and final game by a 10-3 score. This is the 10th NCAA Tournament berth for the team. Last year's squad, led by many of the same players who lead this year's team, finished second to RIC at the regional. Tufts will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championship round in Salem, Virginia May 16-20.

With 14 letter-winners back from last year, including most of the starting line-up, Coach Cheryl Milligan's team entered the 2008 season with high hopes. On their annual season-opening trip to the Sun West Tournament in California, the Jumbos won their first five games. Included among those victories was one of the biggest in the program's history, a 12-4, five-inning win against the University of St. Thomas. The Tommies were ranked fourth nationally at the time and were NCAA champions in 2004 and 2005. They hadn't lost by the eight-run rule in eight seasons covering 337 games.

However, Tufts sputtered later in the week at Sun West to finish with a 7-5 record. Among the losses were two to NESCAC opponents Williams and Wesleyan. Though disappointed with how they finished the California trip, the Jumbos knew they would jel as the season progressed.

After weather delayed the start of their New England schedule, Tufts won their first 12 games back home. Included in that run was a double-header sweep of Bridgewater State College and a 9-1 victory at Wellesley College. Both teams are at the NCAA Providence regional with the Jumbos. Tufts also clinched its fourth straight NESCAC East flag at home on April 19 against Trinity.

The Jumbos lost three of six in late April, including games at NCAA qualifiers Western Connecticut and Endicott. They rolled through the first two rounds of the NESCAC Tournament, defeating Williams 7-0 in the opening game and Trinity 11-1 in the winner's bracket game. Upstart Wesleyan rallied to defeat Tufts and force a seventh and final game in the tournament, but the Jumbos hit three three-run home runs to win the title.

Sophomore Stephanie Tong had a perfect 8-0 mark during the regular season (photo by SportsPix)

Six different Jumbos won NESCAC Player or Pitcher of the Week honors this year. Tufts was among the top 40 nationally for four offensive categories in the NCAA Softball Statistics as of April 27. Their .347 batting average prior to the NESCAC's was 25th, their 0.76 home runs per game was 26th, their 7.09 runs per game was 28th and their 1.82 stolen bases per game was 40th. Defensively, the 14 double plays they turned prior to the NESCAC Tournament was sixth overall nationally.

The Jumbos have a diversified offensive attack. Their power includes 30 home runs, led by eight from sophomore 1B Christy Tinker (Woodbridge, CT) to go with a .422 average and 32 RBI. Junior DH Cara Hovhanessian (Farmington, CT) has enjoyed a comeback season with a .424 average, four home runs and 26 RBI. Senior 2B Danielle Lopez (Danvers, MA) leads Tufts with 35 RBI and is hitting .373 with five round-trippers. Junior 3B Samantha Kuhles (Somerville, NJ) has been a spark at the top of the batting order as usual, entering NCAA's hitting .415 with a team-high 38 runs scored. Senior catcher Megan Cusick (Albany, NY) and sophomore SS Casey Sullivan (Berlin, CT) also both hit well over .300 with power. Junior CF Laura Chapman (Seattle, WA) and junior LF Roni Herbst (Montclair, NJ) provide the dangerous element of speed, both at the plate as slappers and on the bases. Chapman leads the Jumbos with 21 steals. Junior RF Maya Ripecky (Chicago, IL) had perhaps the biggest hit of the NESCAC Tournament, a three-run home run that erased Wesleyan's 2-0 lead in game seven.

Pitchers Lauren Gelmetti (Westfield, NJ), Stephanie Tong (Burlingame, CA) and Izzie Santone (Madison, CT) have combined for a 25-5 record this spring. Gelmetti is the team's top winner at 9-2 and also leads the staff with 51 strikeouts to go with a 2.38 earned run average. Santone has compiled an 8-2 record with a 2.00 era in nine starts and 12 relief appearances. Tong (8-1) had an 8-0 record during the regular season and carries a 2.61 era into NCAA's.

Tufts has a 16-18 record in the NCAA Tournament overall. The program earned seven straight NCAA berths from 1997-2003. After failing to qualify in 2004 and 2005, the Jumbos earned three consecutive berths. Nationally ranked for most of the season, the Jumbos are just outside of the top 25 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll for April 30.

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