Box Score
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Mike Barry's two-run single in the eighth was a key part of the Jumbo comeback
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VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - The Tufts baseball team scored three runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game and then added the eventual game-winning run after two were out in the top of the ninth to take a 12-11 victory at Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday. The win gave the Jumbos an 11-1 record on their spring trip, their best mark to start the season since they started taking the trip in 1984.
Trailing 11-8 entering the eighth, juniors Nick Barker and Wade Hauser led off with singles and senior Max Freccia was hit by a pitch. Sophomore 1B Mike Barry followed with a two-run single closing the gap to 11-10. Later in the inning, senior catcher Nick Cutsumpas singled to drive in Freccia with the game-tying run.
Freshman pitcher Matt Rothstein kept VWC off the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth. Into the ninth, Marlin pitcher Reid Hoffler recorded the first two outs before disaster struck. Hauser reached on an error and stole second. He then scored the go-ahead run on a pair of wild pitches.
Rothstein returned in the ninth and helped the Jumbos survive their own error to start the inning with a pair of ground outs to record his first collegiate win.
Rain, sleet, and snow failed to end the contest, which featured timely hitting from start to finish. Tufts jumped out to 6-1 lead including a five-run second. Freccia hit a two-run double to spark the inning, to go along with run-scoring base hits by junior Connor McDavitt and Hauser.
The Marlins (9-14) cut the difference to 6-5 by scoring four times in the bottom of the second inning. VWC took a 7-6 lead with two runs in the bottom of the third, helped by singles from rookies Clay Walker, Justin Erby and Nic Kurz.
McDavitt's two-run triple in the top of the fifh inning helped give the Jumbos an 8-7 lead, but not for long. The Marlins tied the score in the same inning after Erby singled to center field and scored when Brandon Lineberry smacked a double to right.
After pitcher Brooks Kirby and the VWC defense held Tufts scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Marlins took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Rookie Chris Gilliam drew a walk and scored shortly thereafter when Cameron Young lifted a home run over the left center field fence to push VWC into a 10-8 advantage. Walker followed with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by rookie Austin Gammon. Consecutive wild pitches sent him to third and to home, increasing the VWC advantage to their 11-8.
Six Tufts players recorded two hits each, led by Max Freccia with two doubles. McDavitt was 2 for 5 with three rbis and two runs scored to finish the trip with a .346 batting average. Barker was 2 for 5 with two runs, Hauser went 2 for 4 with three runs and an rbi, Barry finished 2 for 5 with three rbis and Cutsumpas had a 4-2-2-1 line.
Virginia Wesleyan finished with a 15-13 edge in hits, led by Walker and Erby with three each. Zach Bach knocked out a pair of doubles.
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