Box Score
HAMPTON, VA - The 16th ranked Tufts University baseball team earned a double-header sweep of The Apprentice School on Saturday afternoon with victories of 4-3 and 6-4. It took 17 innings for the Jumbos to defeat the Builders in game two.
Tufts scored first in game one in the third inning on junior 3B Sam Sager's (Cranston, RI) two-out single which plated sophomore DH Billy Collins (Hanson, MA). Collins singled to begin the frame.
The Apprentice School answered right back in the bottom half with base hit by sophomore 3B Chris Kennedy (Chesapeake, VA). It was one of just five hits Tufts junior starting LHP Kevin Gilchrist (Medford, MA) allowed in his six-inning outing.
The Jumbos did not wait around long to take the lead back, this time for good, in the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore LF Erik Weikert (Avondale Estates, GA) singled on the first pitch he saw, and two pitches later he came around to score on a double by senior RF Chase Rose (Paradise Valley, AZ).
Junior C Matt Collins (Hopkinton, MA) made it 3-1 Tufts in the fifth inning with another two-out RBI. Weikert added a huge insurance run for the Jumbos in the seventh with a run-scoring double.
With the first game of the double header scheduled for just seven innings, the Builders made a charge by plating two runs on three hits. With the tying run on second base, Tufts freshman RHP Dean Lambert (Cross, River, NY) struck out freshman Corey Gallaway (Newport News, VA). Lambert relieved Gilchrist and recorded all three outs in the final inning for a save.
Gilchrist picked up the win for the Jumbos with his six innings pitched, while allowing three runs on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Senior starting RHP Pat O'Donnell (Worcester, MA) was outstanding for the Jumbos in game two, pitching 10 complete innings in the 17-inning affair.
After The Apprentice School scored one in the first inning, Tufts tied the game in the second and then grabbed a 2-1 advantage in the third inning. Senior 2B Frank Petroskey (Dallas, TX) led the third off with a single and moved to third base on the ensuing single from senior SS David LeResche (St. Louis, MO). Sager brought Petroskey home with a sacrifice fly.
The Builders tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning, and it remained even until the 11th. O'Donnell allowed just the two runs (one earned) with seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
The two sides exchanged single runs in the 11th and 12th innings. Weikert smacked a home run to right field in the 12th, but The Apprentice School forced the 13th inning by scoring the tying run on a wild pitch.
Tufts was hitless for the next four innings before they broke through in the top of the 17th. The Jumbos grabbed a 6-4 lead on the back of bases-loaded walks from senior CF Ian Goldberg (Lake Forest, IL) and Billy Collins.
Lambert closed the door for the second time on the day for the Jumbos, leaving a runner on first base after a hit by pitch. Sophomore RHP Alex Cronkite (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) was the winning pitcher for Tufts after pitching four scoreless frames, giving up three hits with two walks and one strikeout.
The Jumbos are now 5-4-1 on the year and will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at Virginia Wesleyan.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
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