Box Score 
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Tufts baseball team scored nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings combined to pull away from Coast Guard for a 15-5 win in their season-opener on Monday.
The victory was the first at Tufts for new head coach Paul Svagdis, who took over the Jumbos following the retirement of longtime leader John Casey.
Coast Guard had taken a 4-3 lead in the fifth. They put two on to start the inning with a single by Justin Stasiak and a hit-by-pitch. The Jumbos went to the bullpen for Connor Kinney, but after a sacrifice bunt the Bears would score twice on a ground out by Wyatt Duthu and a Tufts error to take the one-run lead.
The Jumbos got the advantage back quickly, scoring three runs on no hits before anyone was out in the sixth thanks to a wild Coast Guard bullpen. After a walk and two hit-batters loaded the bases, three straight walks to Peter DeMaria, Kyle Cortese and Miles Reid (pictured) forced home runs giving Tufts the lead back at 6-4.
A hit-by-pitch and a double to center by John Tacchini plated a run in the Coast Guard sixth, but the Jumbos struck for six unearned runs in the top of the seventh to take control of the game. Jimmy Evans doubled home Patrick Solomon, who had reached by error and was sacrificed to second by Ozzie Fleischer. After DeMaria reached by error and Evans stole third, Cortese doubled Evans home to make it 8-5. Reid followed with an infield single scoring DeMaria (9-5), then Clay Sowell then broke the game open with a three-run home run to left for a 12-5 Jumbo advantage.
Tufts would add two more home runs, a solo shot by DeMaria in the eighth and a two-run, pinch-hit homer by John Fritz in the ninth for the 15-5 final.
An infield single by Kyle Cortese had started Tufts in the second inning. Reid singled and then Ryan Noone's ground out brought home the first run of the season. Reid and Noone were a part of Tufts' second run in the fourth. After a Reid walk to open the frame, Noone reached on an error by the center fielder. Jackson Duffy followed with an rbi single to right scoring Reid for a 2-0 Tufts lead.
The Bears tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth off Jumbo starter Brendan McFall on a walk, a single and a two-out, two-run double by Grayson Irwin. Tufts got the lead back (3-2) when Evans led off the fifth with a double, was singled to third by DeMaria and scored on Reid's sac fly to right.
Tufts finished with 13 hits, including a 3 for 4 opener by Reid with two runs and three rbis. DeMaria went 2 for 5 with two runs and two rbis, Evans was 2 for 5 with three runs and an rbi and Cortese was 2 for 4 with two rbis and two runs. Patrick Solomon and Ozzie Fleischer both scored twice and Duffy had two hits.
Jumbo pitching limited the Bears to six hits. Kinney got the win for Tufts, allowing one hit and one run in two innings. Justin Wells pitched two no-hit, no-run innings and Steven Landry finished up with a scoreless frame.
Cody Fidler was 1 for 2 with two runs for Coast Guard. John Thigpen took the pitching loss, allowing five hits and three runs in five innings before Tufts feasted on the Bears' bullpen.
Tufts is back at it tomorrow at Johnson & Wales in a 4 pm start.
