Box Score 
MEDFORD – In the opening game of the 2022 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Softball Championship, the NESCAC East #1 seed Tufts University scored seven runs in the fourth inning on their way to a 13-5 victory over the NESCAC West #4 seed Wesleyan University in five innings.
The Jumbos (31-9, 11-1 NESCAC East) stormed back after going down 5-1 through three innings for the win and Josie Steinberg ended it with an rbi triple in the bottom of the fifth. Four Tufts batters had multi-hit games, including Steinberg, who finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi. Bela Jimenez, Lindsay Neumann and Nicole Russo each finished with two hits as well for the Jumbos. Hannah Docktor and Krissy Gately led the Cardinals' (13-19, 4-8 NESCAC West) offense with two hits each. Docktor added a run scored while Gately had an rbi.
After a scoreless first inning for both teams, the Jumbos got on the board first in the bottom of the second when Rachel Moore scored on a Wesleyan error after reaching base on a fielder's choice.
Wesleyan had a massive third inning, scoring five runs on six hits, and Courtney Collins-Pisano and Docktor started the Cardinals' rally with one-out singles. Collins-Pisano eventually scored on a Sophia Sciarappa single up the middle while Docktor scored when Isabella Secaira-Cotto grounded into a fielder's choice in the next at-bat. Later in the inning, Gately singled through the right side to score Sciarappa and Revi Brown drove in two runs on a single down the right field line to make it 5-1.
This is when the Tufts bats came alive, putting the ball in play for five hits and forcing three Wesleyan errors. Keriann Slayton and Russo had back-to-back rbi singles to start the scoring, allowing Moore and Neumann to cross the plate. Kat Yuzefpolsky reached on an error in the next at-bat, scoring Slayton to make it a 5-4 ball game. Tufts added four more runs in the inning on a Michelle Adelman two-rbi single to score Yuzefpolsky and Russo, followed by a Steinberg rbi on an error and a Moore rbi double to center field to score Steinberg, giving Tufts the 8-5 lead heading into the fifth.
After pitcher Sophia DiCocco shut down the Wesleyan lineup in the top of the fifth, Tufts ended the game in the bottom half of inning, scoring five runs. Tufts continued to get the bat on the ball to put pressure on the Wesleyan fielders to make plays, forcing two errors. Meggie Murphy got it started for the 'Bos, singling up the middle to score Slayton who reached base on an error to lead off the inning. Adelman followed that up with a sacrifice fly to right field and Jimenez gave Tufts a seven-run lead with an rbi single to bring up Steinberg. Steinberg ended it with an rbi triple to right field, scoring Jimenez and clinching the 13-5 victory for Tufts.
DiCocco got the win, pitching all five innings and allowing five runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts. Secaira-Cotto was credited with the loss for the Cardinals after throwing 4.1 innings and allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits and five strikeouts.
With the win, Tufts advances to face the winner of the NESCAC West #2 seed Middlebury College and NESCAC East #3 seed Colby College tomorrow, May 7 at 2:30 pm.
Written by Tim O'Brien, Athletic Communications Intern
