JUMBOS SWEEP BABSON TO END REGULAR SEASON
COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORES
Game 1: Tufts 5 Babson 4
Game 2: Tufts 7 Babson 4
At Medford, MA
Sunday, May 5, 2002
Game 1
| Babson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | = | 4-9-4 |
| Tufts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | x | = | 5-7-2 |
Game 2
| Babson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | = | 4-7-1 |
| Tufts | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | x | = | 7-11-1 |
Records - T, 23-7-1; B, 24-19.
MEDFORD - The host Tufts Jumbos closed their regular season with an eight-game winning streak after sweeping a double-header from local rival Babson College on Sunday afternoon. The Jumbos took game one, 5-4, then followed with a 7-4 victory in the nightcap.
With the win, Tufts improved to 23-7-1 overall heading into next weekend's (May 10-12) NESCAC baseball tournament to be played at Tufts and at Babson. The 23 wins are the second-most in Tufts history, behind the 2000 squad's 26. Babson, with losses in four of its last five games, dropped to 24-19.
Tufts junior P Jon Lee (Manhasset Hills, NY) had a shutout through five innings in game one, with Tufts leading 3-0. The Jumbos scored the three in the first inning, with a Babson error, a triple by junior SS Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, MA) and a double by senior 1B Tim Ayres (Irvine, CA) doing the damage. Babson scored twice in the top of the sixth to pull within 3-2. Sophomore SS Matt Bigda (Shrewsbury, MA) led off with a single, then junior 2B Kevin Higa (Aiea, HI) launched a fly ball to right that was dropped. A ground ball out by sophomore 3B Phil McGinnis (Shrewsbury, MA) scored Bigda, then a single by freshman LF Tyler Doehler (Lakeville, MA) scored Higa. Babson returned the favor in the bottom of the sixth with a costly fly-ball drop that allowed two runs to score with two outs so that Tufts had a 5-2 lead. Babson then scored twice in the ninth on a wild pitch and a single by Higa, but Lee earned the final out with the tying run on first base. Bigda had three hits for Babson, while senior captain Ryan Fergus (Arlington, TX) went the distance for the loss. Junior CF Evan Zupancic (Lake Oswego, OR) had two hits for Tufts. Babson made four errors in the game.
Babson jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first of game two, with McGinnis and Doehler ripping RBI singles. Tufts got one back in the first with a solo home run by senior RF Dan Callahan (Medfield, MA), then took the lead with three in the second. A two-run single by freshman 2B Frank Dinucci (Wilton, CT) was the key hit. The Beavers rallied to tie the score at 4-4 in the fifth. Sophomore DH Dave Ballas (Hamden, MA) led off with a single, Bigda had a one-out base-knock, then Ballas scored on a Tufts throwing error and Bigda scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore 1B Nate LaLiberte (Saco, ME). The Jumbos again responded immediately with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Among five Tufts singles in the inning were RBIs by Callahan and sophomore LF Drew Blewett (Great Falls, MT). Ayres had a sacrifice fly. Babson loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with one out, but Shapiro, on in relief, squelched the rally with a strike out and a ground out. He eventually earned his third save, with starter Randy Newsom (Cincinnati, OH) picking up the win to improve to 5-1. Bigda, McGinnis and Doehler had two hits for Babson, with junior P Bill Fitzgerald (Scituate, MA) taking the loss. Sophomore IF Nick Palange (Hudson, MA), Callahan, Shapiro and sophomore DH Adam Kacamburas (North Reading, MA) had two hits for Tufts.
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