Box Score HAMPTON, Va. - Senior shortstop Matt Moser went 5 for 5 with five rbis as the Tufts baseball team opened its 2016 season with a 15-5 win over Castleton on Friday afternoon at the Apprentice School.
Moser's two-run singles in the fifth and sixth innings helped break the game open as the Jumbos combined for nine runs in the two frames. Castleton had leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 5-3 before the Jumbos pulled away.
Tufts received a strong relief outing from junior Matt Rothstein. Replacing starter Tim Superko in the fifth, Rothstein earned the win allowing three hits and no earned runs with 10 strikeouts in five innings.
In the Castleton first, after Taylor Vile led off with a double and Put Mumford singled, a Nick Swim ground out produced the game's first run. Doubles by Tufts lead-off man Cody McCallum and Moser tied the score in the bottom of the first. A double by Swim and a single by Dan Errico put Castleton ahead in the top of the third.
Moser singled to lead off the Tufts third and stole second. After Tommy O'Hara walked, sophomore 1B Nick Falkson doubled both home. Another double by Tom Petry scored Falkson and Tufts led 4-2 through three.
Castleton came back with one in the fourth and two in the fifth. Skylar LaFerrierre walked and scored on a fielder's choice by Swim in the fourth making it 4-3 Jumbos. Zach Bahan led off the fifth with a single and scored on an outfield error to tie the score. Jim Buckley eventually scored on a balk giving the Spartans a 5-4 lead.
It was all Tufts from there. A pair of Castleton errors aided a five-run fifth that put the Jumbos up 9-5. Junior RF Oscar Kutch and O'Hara joined Moser with rbis in the frame. A ground out by Petry and a single up the middle by McCallum helped Moser produce a fourth-run sixth for a 13-5 advantage.
In the Tufts seventh, Petry picked up his third rbi of the game on a sacrifice fly and freshman catcher Eric Schnepf had an rbi single for the final run.
McCallum was 3 for 4 with two walks and three runs scored at the top of the Tufts order. Kutch, Falkson, and junior LF Harry Brown all scored twice and sophomore DH Dan Kelly went 2 for 4. Tufts worked eight walks off Castleton pitching and took advantage of four Spartan errors leading to eight unearned runs. The Jumbos finished with 15 hits.
Vile finished 3 for 5 at the top of the Castleton order. Swim had two rbis. Devin Hayes took the loss for Castleton allowing nine hits and seven runs (five earned) in 4.2 innings.
#
