Box Score 
WEYMOUTH – The Tufts University baseball team got off to an early 7-0 lead through four innings on their way to a 13-5 victory at Eastern Nazarene College on Wednesday afternoon.
Graduate student second baseman Kyle Cortese (pictured) finished the day 3 for 5 with two two-run home runs and an rbi single for five RBIs, with the first home run coming in the top of the second inning to give the Jumbos (3-0) a 2-0 lead. Following a Patrick Solomon leadoff single and Jimmy Evans walk in the third, senior Miles Reid drove in Solomon with a double down the third base line. Evans scored on a wild pitch later in the inning before Cortese drove in Reid with an rbi single. They tacked on two more runs in the fourth when Clay Sowell scored on a Solomon grounder to the pitcher and Reid drove in Connor Bowman with an rbi single to left after Bowman reached base on a dropped fly ball.
After four and 2/3 innings of shutout pitching from Jumbo junior Michael Volgende, Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the fifth, as Shane McNamara and Jaime Roldan scored on an error, but Tufts answered right back with a three-run top of the sixth inning to take a 10-2 lead. Evans smashed a three-run home run over the right field fence after Solomon and Ozzie Fleischer both walked.
Eastern Nazarene scored three of their own in the bottom of the sixth to match the Jumbos' top of the inning. Cam Barry led off with a single to right field and Juan Jacobo Lopez was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat. The next batter, Luis Pina, stepped into the box as a pinch hitter and hit a three-run blast to left field to cut the Jumbos' lead to 10-5. After a scoreless seventh inning for both teams, the Jumbos finished the game with two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth while shutting out Eastern Nazarene the rest of the way for the 13-5 victory. Cortese picked up his second two-run home run of the game in the eighth, driving in Reid after he led the inning off with a walk, and Solomon scored in the ninth on a fielding error.
Tufts had 12 hits in the ballgame compared to Eastern Nazarene's seven. Along with Cortese's 3 for 5 day with two home runs, two runs scored and five rbis, Reid finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and two rbis and Evans went 1 for 5 with two runs scored and three rbis. Pina went 1 for 2 with a run scored and three RBIs for Eastern Nazarene.
Volgende was credited with the decision for the Jumbos, going four and 2/3 innings with just three hits allowed and six strikeouts. Justin Wells, Silas Reed and Steven Landry each had scoreless pitching performances with Wells going one and 1/3 with a strikeout, Reed pitching a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts and Landry finishing the game with a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout. Briley Seiter took the loss for Eastern Nazarene, pitching four innings and allowing seven runs on five hits.
Next up, the Jumbos travel to the Apprentice School for a two-game set on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 to begion their spring trip. Both games are at 1 pm.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
