Teams: Baseball: Schedule & Results

JUMBOS RALLY IN EIGHTH TO BEAT EASTERN, 8-4

COLLEGE BASEBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 8    Eastern Connecticut 4

At Mansfield, CT
Monday, May 1, 2006

Game Box Score

MANSFIELD, Conn. -- The Tufts Baseball team scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning to take an 8-4 non-conference win against the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors on Monday night.

Tufts (20-12) has now won eight of its last nine since losing four straight. The loss is only the fourth against 11 losses at home for Eastern (23-14) and drops the team's record up north to 20-9. The Jumbos closed the gap against Eastern in the all-time series to 7-6.

The Jumbos scored three runs in the fourth to take the lead. Junior DH Nick Curato (Cumberland, ME) drove home and scored a run in the inning. Eastern battled back to move ahead by scoring two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Shortstop Zack Thomas' two-run double in the fourth accounted for Eastern's first two runs, and the Warriors went ahead by scoring two more in the fifth on three hits and a Tufts throwing error on designated hitter Tristan Hobbes' sacrifice bunt. First baseman Chris DeSantis drove in second baseman Marc Garofalo with the first run of the inning when he doubled to left.

Tufts tied the game on senior Jim O'Leary's (North Easton, MA) steal of home in the seventh. He led off with a walk, moved to second on a bunt single by junior 1B Bryan McDavitt (Holden, MA), was sacrificed to third and stole home on an outside pitch during a squeeze attempt. The Jumbos then scored four runs in the eighth on two hits, a sacrifice bunt and three Eastern errors. Tufts scored the two tie-breaking runs when a potential inning-ending double play ground ball to the left side of the infield ended up in left field. Two more runs scored on an outfield throwing error on Brian McDonough's (Hanover, MA) two-out single to center.

The Jumbos had 10 hits overall, with two each coming off the bats of senior SS Greg Chertok (New City, NY), McDavitt and McDonough. Garofalo amassed four of Eastern's 12 hits and reached safely in all five of his plate appearances.

Tufts employed four pitchers, with senior Erik Johanson (Wynnewood, PA) earning the win in relief and sophomore Jason Protano (Milford, MA) picking up his second save. With Tufts leading 4-3 in the sixth, the Warriors loaded the bases with none out but relief pitcher Carlos Lopez (Brooklyn, NY) sandwiched two strikeouts around an infield popup to subdue the threat and leave the bases full.

The Jumbos finish their regular season on Sunday with two games at Babson.

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