Teams: Softball: Schedule & Results

JUMBOS OPEN 2008 SEASON WITH CALIFORNIA WINS OVER CENTRAL, HAMLINE

COLLEGE SOFTBALL FINAL SCORES
Sun West Tournament
Tufts 9, Central (IA) 0 (6 inn.)
Tufts 12, Hamline 7

At Orange, CA
Sunday, March 16, 2008

Central Box Score

Hamline Box Score

ORANGE, Calif. -- With great anticipation, the 2008 Tufts softball season opened at the Sun West Tournament on Sunday near Los Angeles with wins over Central College of Iowa and against Hamline University from Minnesota. The Jumbos won 9-0 in six innings and 12-7, respectively.

After arriving in California late Saturday night, Tufts was up and at 'em on Sunday afternoon. Ranked 15th nationally beginning the year, the Jumbos opened with an impressive 9-0 six-inning win against 24th-rated Central. The first four innings were a pitcher's duel between Tufts junior Lauren Gelmetti (Westfield, NJ) and freshman Kiley Lythberg (Mount Prospect, Ill.) from the Dutch, with a 0-0 score.

However, after Central left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Tufts scored four runs in the top of the fifth. The Jumbos then broke it open with five runs in the sixth. Sophomore 1B Christy Tinker (Woodbridge, CT) was the big bat in both innings, hitting a two-run single in the fifth and belting a three-run homer in the sixth.

Gelmetti did not have a 1-2-3 inning, but was very effective with six hits and a walk allowed and eight strike outs in a season-opening shutout. Tinker finished 4 for 4 with four RBI and two runs scored. Senior 2B Danielle Lopez (Danvers, MA), returning to the field after missing all of last season with a knee injury, scored two and drove home two.

A five-run second inning got things going for Tufts in the second game of the day against Hamline. Junior RF Maya Ripecky (Chicago, IL) had a two-run double to spark the outburst. Hamline scored a single run in the fourth on a home run by Sophie Davidson and then took the lead with six runs in the fifth.

Trailing 7-5, and on the heels of back-to-back 1-2-3 innings, the Jumbos scored three in the fifth with the help of five singles. Three more singles in the sixth led to four more runs and a 12-7 advantage. Junior 3B Samantha Kuhles (Somerville, NJ) singled and scored in both innings.

Kuhles also doubled home a run and scored in the second, finishing the game 3 for 4. Senior catcher Megan Cusick (Albany, NY) was 3 for 4 with a run and two RBI, both off a single in the sixth. First-year pitcher Izzie Santone (Madiston, CT) earned the win in relief with 2.1 scoreless innings.

Davidson led Hamline with two hits and two runs scored. Senior RF Sara Mickelson and sophomore C Ashley Anderberg both had two hits. Tufts tagged first-year pitcher Kelsey Tacheny for 11 hits and 12 runs in 5.1 innings.

The Jumbos play at the Sun West Tournament hosted by Chapman University all week. 

#