Box Score 
LEXINGTON, Va. - In their most exciting game of the year thus far, the Tufts University baseball team remained undefeated (9-0) with a 5-4 victory in 10 innings at Washington and Lee University Thursday afternoon.
The Jumbos led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but the host Generals (9-10) scored to force extra innings. Zach Senders led off with a single, stole second and was sacrificed to third by Jacob Jackson. He then scored to tie the game at 4-4 on a sac fly by Drew Larsen.
In the Tufts 10th, the Jumbos loaded the bases on singles by Peter DeMaria and Kyle Cortese and pinch-hitter Ben Leonard getting hit by a pitch. Clay Sowell then walked on a 3-2 pitch to score pinch-runner Johnny Briody with the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the 10th, following a pair of walks to Washington and Lee batters, Matt Benda (pictured) entered in relief for Tufts with no outs. The runners were sacrificed to second and third, then Benda struck out Luke Czepiel for two outs. After walking Senders to load the bases, Benda went to a 3-0 count on Jackson before battling back to strike him out on a high fastball ending the game.
Tufts had led all game. Shortstop Nate Bozzella hit a leadoff bomb to put the Jumbos up 1-0 in the first. Jimmy Evans followed with a single, stole second and scored on an error giving Tufts a 2-0 lead.
Aidan Tucker, who won seven games for the Jumbos in 2019, returned to the mound for the first time since then getting the start today. The Generals got him for a run after two were out in the first. Larsen singled, Jaden Keuhner walked and Ethan Zulueta hit a run-scoring single to right. Tucker got a strike out to leave two Generals on.
Tufts added to its lead in the second. Ryan Noone doubled down the left-field line and Sowell (2 for 3, 2 rbi, run) singled to left sending Noone to third. Patrick Solomon flied out deeply to sacrifice home the run for a 3-1 Jumbo advantage.
Connor Kinney entered for Tucker in the second and would go four innings allowing four hits and a run. Washington and Lee made it a 3-2 game in the fifth when Senders singled to right field, Jackson singled through the left side and then Keuhner singled to right-center for the rbi.
Tufts got the run back in the top of the seventh when Sowell struck for a leadoff moonshot - his third home run - to extend the Jumbo lead to 4-2. Gavin Brown came on in relief in the bottom of the inning, got the first two outs, but would surrender a run making it 4-3. Jackson singled to center field for Washington and Lee, Larsen singled to right-center which advanced Jackson to third and he scored on a wild pitch.
After the Jumbo bats stranded two in the top of the eighth, the bottom of the inning saw Tufts reliever Jack Schwartz enter with two outs and the potential tying run on second. He whiffed Jamie Abt to keep the Jumbos ahead at the time. The Generals would score their game-tying run in the ninth against Tufts reliever Liam Wilson.
Evans had three hits and Cortese had two as the Jumbos finished with 10. Wilson would end up getting the pitching victory and Benda earned a save. The top four in the Washington and Lee line-up - Senders, Jackson, Larsen and Keuhner - combined for nine of their team's 11 hits. Evan Blair took the loss in relief for the hosts.
The Jumbos are at Lynchburg tomorrow.
