JUMBOS BATTLE NATION'S TOP TEAM TO A TIE
COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 7 Methodist 7
At Fayetteville, NC
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
| Tufts | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = | 7-12-1 |
| Methodist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | = | 7-12-1 |
Records: T, 0-3-1; M 19-1-1.
Fayetteville, NC -- The Tufts University Jumbos battled to a 7-7 tie with the nation's top-ranked team in Division III baseball action on Tuesday in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Jumbos built a 7-2 lead over host Methodist College over the first six innings before the Monarchs battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Tufts junior SS Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, MA) went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI to lead the Jumbos. The game was called after the ninth inning due to darkness.
The Jumbos got on the board early on Shapiro's two-run home run in the top of the first. The Jumbos added another run in the second on junior CF Evan Zupancic's (Lake Oswego, OR) RBI double. Tufts continued to pour it on early in the fourth. After senior RF Dan Callahan's (Medfield, MA) two-out single, Shapiro knocked out the second pitch he saw for his second home run of the game, spotting Tufts a 5-0 lead. They added a run in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 7-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Jumbo starter Dave Martin (Arlington, MA) pitched very well early, striking out the side in the bottom of the first inning. He held the Monarchs to a single run on three hits in the first five innings. Methodist's comeback started slowly, when they scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth, and another in the sixth. The floodgates opened in the seventh, however. The hosts scored four runs in that inning including 1B Jimmy Ross's two-run home run to close the gap to one, 7-6, and force Martin out of the game. He gave up six runs -- only one earned -- on 11 hits through seven innings.
Shapiro moved to the mound in the bottom of the eighth in a save situation, but was unable to keep the Monarchs off the board, giving up the tying run on a walk and a triple. The Jumbos were unable to capitalize in the ninth, following freshman 3B Adam Kacamburas's (North Reading, MA) leadoff single with a fielder's choice and an inning-ending double play. Shapiro pitched a perfect ninth to hold off the Monarchs before the game was called due to darkness.
The Jumbos will continue their spring break trip at North Carolina-Wesleyan on Thursday, March 21.
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