TUFTS POSTS 10-3 WIN OVER WILLIAMS IN NESCAC TOURNAMENT
COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
NESCAC Tournament
Tufts 10 Williams 3
At Medford, MA
Friday, May 10, 2002
| Williams | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = | 3-6-1 |
| Tufts | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | x | = | 10-12-0 |
Records - T, 24-7-1; W, 25-12.
MEDFORD - Senior 1B Tim Ayres (Irvine, CA) hit a tie-breaking solo home run in the third inning, then a game-breaking two-run triple in the seventh, as the Tufts baseball team went on to a 10-3 victory over Williams College in the opening round of the NESCAC baseball tournament.
Tufts, the tournament host, advances in the winner's bracket to play Trinity, a 10-6 winner in 11 innings against Wesleyan in the other opening round game on Friday. That game will be played at Tufts at 10:30 Saturday morning. Williams will play -Wesleyan in an elimination game at Babson on Saturday morning at 10:30.
In the Tufts-Williams game, both squads started strong. Williams stud Mark Scialabba (Queensbury, NY) hit an opposite-field home run with two outs in the first to give the Ephs a 2-0 lead. Tufts answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning on four hits, including RBI singles by senior RF Dan Callahan (Medfield, MA), junior SS Brian Shapiro (Swampscott, MA) and freshman C Bob Kenny (Milford, MA). The Ephs tied the score at 3-3 with a single run in the third on a leadoff single by junior LF Matt Dahlman (Short Hills, NJ), followed by a single from junior 3B Austin Lehn (Maplewood, NJ) and then an RBI fielder's choice by freshman SS Scott Johnson (Windsor Locks, CT).
Ayres launched his second home run of the season - his first since March 30 - to right center to give Tufts a 4-3 lead in the third. The score stood until the seventh, with strong pitching by Tufts junior starter Jon Lee (Manhasset Hills, NY) and Williams freshman reliever Chris Bodnar (Carlisle, MA). The Jumbos erupted with a four-run rally in the seventh, led by Ayres' triple over the center fielder's head, to go ahead 8-3. Callahan had a run-scoring single during the inning and the other Tufts run scored on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the eighth, Shapiro laced a two-run single to put the Jumbos in double figures.
Lee, meanwhile, settled down nicely after allowing three runs and six hits in the first three innings. He did not allow a hit the rest of the way and picked up his sixth victory. He finished with seven strike outs. Williams starter Ben Hamm (Java Center, NY) was lifted after Tufts' three-run first, and Bodnar allowed just three hits from the second through sixth innings. He tired in the seventh after getting one out, allowing five straight Tufts batters to reach base, then made way for sophomore reliever Ryan Paylor (Braintree, MA) to finish the game.
Shapiro finished with three hits and three RBIs for Tufts, while Callahan chipped in two hits and two RBIs. Junior LF Jon Herbert (Davidsonville, MD) had three hits. Dahlman had a pair of hits for Williams, while senior RF Billy Casolo (Stamford, CT). Williams beat Tufts in the NESCAC championship game last year.
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