COLLEGE
SOFTBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 2, Trinity 1
At Medford, MA
Monday, April 26, 2010
Game
Box Score
MEDFORD -- Senior RF Stefanie Tong (Burlingame,
CA) belted a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help the
Tufts University Jumbos overtake the Trinity College Bantams, 2-1,
in a NESCAC East Division softball matchup on Monday afternoon at
Spicer Field. With the win, the Jumbos are now 7-2 in conference
play and have put themselves in prime position to grab one of the
two conference tournament berths from the East.
Both teams went scoreless through the first three innings, but
both teams let chances go by the boards as well. The Bantams had
two on with one out in the first, but junior 1B Nicole Nardella
(Beverly, MA) lined into an inning-ending double play. In the
second, Trinity had a runner in scoring position with only one out,
but again could not take advantage as Tufts junior starting pitcher
Izzie Santone (Madison, CT) struck out a batter
and forced a groundout.
Tufts would leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the second
inning, and then in the third they would leave another two runners
on base. Trinity would break the scoreless tie in the top of the
fourth as Nardella started a rally with a one-out double. After
Santone recorded her fourth strikeout, first-year DP Kerry McCarthy
(Andover, MA) came through with a two-out, run-scoring single to
give the Bantams the 1-0 advantage.
Once again the Jumbos would leave the bases loaded, this time in
the bottom of the fourth. Junior C Julia Silberman (Somers,
NY) led off the frame with a double, then Trinity
sophomore starting pitcher Katherine Poulos (Wilton, CT) set down
the following two batters. Sophomore CF Lizzy Iuppa
(Paramus, NJ) and sophomore 3B Mira Lieman-Sifry
(Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) both walked to load the bases,
but sophomore 1B Lena Cantone (Southington, CT)
would ground out to second to end the threat.
Santone was faced with another tough situation in the fifth
inning when the Bantams put two on base with only one out, but was
able to battle back and retire the next two batters in order to
keep the Jumbo deficit at just one run. The bottom of the fifth
finally saw the Jumbos take advantage of an opportunity. Senior SS
Casey Sullivan (Berlin, CT) led off with a double,
and then moved over to third base on a sacrifice bunt from
first-year Emily Beinecke (Concord, MA). That set
the stage for Tong, who sent the ball down the left-field line to
notch her fourth home run of the year and drive in her 15th and
16th RBIs, giving Tufts the 2-1 lead. The ball bounced off the top
of the fence and over.
Trinity tried to strike back in the sixth inning, again putting
two runners on base, but yet again Santone was able to work out of
the jam as she stranded the runners. The score remained 2-1 into
the top of the seventh where Santone would record her second 1-2-3
inning of the game and give the Jumbos the victory.
Santone earned the complete-game victory and improved her record
to 6-5 on the season. She allowed just the one run on eight hits
with five strikeouts and one walk. Her counterpart Poulos went the
full six innings for the Bantams, giving up two runs on six hits
with two strikeouts and one walk. She is now 6-5 for the year.
Sullivan was the only Jumbo to record multiple hits, with a
single in the third and the double in the fifth that helped lead to
Tong's two-run homer. Lieman-Sifry, Beinecke, and Silberman
accounted for the other three hits for the Tufts offense. For
Trinity, Nardella finished 2 for 3 with a double, single and she
scored the lone Bantam run. No other Trinity player reached base
twice for the contest.
Tufts is now 17-11 overall, and with their 7-2 NESCAC record
they stand alone in first place in a bunched-up East division. They
will step out of conference on Wednesday for a home double-header
with Babson beginning at 3 pm. Trinity stands at 19-11 overall and
they finish NESCAC play at 8-4. They will play two at home against
Eastern Connecticut on Tuesday afternoon at 3 pm.
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