Box Score MEDFORD – Senior tri-captain R.J. Hall threw a three-hit shutout as the Tufts University baseball team opened NESCAC East Division action with a 6-0 victory over Bates College on Friday afternoon at Huskins Field.
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| Junior Ryan Day had three of Tufts' 14 hits today. |
The shutout was the second of Hall's career, but first since his freshman season in 2016. He allowed Bobcat singles in the first, third and fourth innings and finished with seven strikeouts. Five walks helped put six Bobcat base runners in scoring position, but Hall worked out of any trouble all day.
The Jumbo offense got him more than he would need with two in the bottom of the first. Junior DH Ryan Day hit a one-out single up the middle and scored on a double by sophomore 3B Ryan Daues. Freshman 1B Peter DeMaria followed with an rbi single making it 2-0.
Bates had runners on second and third with one out in the second after a hit-by-pitch and an error by Hall. However, he made amends by making a play to get the runner trying to score on a ball hit back at him for the second out. He then got the third on a line drive to left.
Tufts loaded the bases in the bottom of the second after senior catcher Harrison Frickman led off with a single. Daues brought home a run with a bases-loaded walk giving Tufts a 3-0 edge.
Hall would strand 10 Bobcats on the bases overall. Bates sophomore CF Christian Beal led off the third with a single and went to second on a one-out walk to junior catcher Jack Arend. Hall rolled a double-play ball to get out of the inning however.
After Tufts had a runner thrown out at the plate on a double by senior LF Casey Santos-Ocampo in the fourth, sophomore 2B Will Burgess followed with an rbi single and Tufts led 4-0.
Hall (3-0) stranded two in the Bates fifth and would get through the rest of his outing with relative ease. DeMaria hit a two-run single – bringing his rbi total to 20 in nine games – in the Jumbo sixth to cap the scoring.
Day finished 3 for 3 with two runs scored while DeMaria went 2 for 5 with three rbis. Junior RF J.P. Knight and senior SS Will Shackelford both had two hits for Tufts and Santos-Ocampo scored twice. Tufts improved to 10-2.
Junior Cameron Carlson pitched 1.2 innings of good relief for Bates (5-7), allowing two hits and no runs. Classmate Mark Russell finished up with a scoreless inning.
The teams play a double-header at Huskins tomorrow starting at noon.
