WINTER HAVEN, FL (March 21, 2023) - The Tufts University softball team heads into a well-earned off day on Wednesday following two more victories that have head coach
Lauren Ebstein's Jumbos off to an 8-0 start in 2023.
With a 13-4 win over St. Lawrence University and an 11-1 victory in five innings against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Tuesday, the Jumbos have now scored 79 runs in Florida, nearly 10 per game.
Tuesday's opener was close until the Jumbos scored six unearned runs against the Saints in the seventh inning. Batting first, the Jumbos put four on the board in the opening frame on a two-run single by
Josie Steinberg and an inside the park home run by
Rachel Moore when the St. Lawrence left fielder tried to make a play on the ball and it got by her. Stella VanGee walked to lead off the bottom of the first for St. Lawrence and eventually score on a passed ball for a 4-1 score.
An offensive second inning saw both teams score three times. Moore hit a two-run single for Tufts, giving her four rbis in the first two innings of the game. Meredith Rose had a two-run single for the Saints and it was a 7-4 game.
Pitching took over for the next four innings. Jumbo junior
Sophia DiCocco would shut the Saints down for the rest of the game to earn her third victory of the trip. She went six innings allowing six hits and three earned runs. SLU starter Sofia Berryhill retired nine straight Jumbos at one point and worked through the fifth.
St. Lawrence errors opened the floodgates in the Tufts seventh, which included a two-run double by first-year
Haley Leimbach, who would finish the game 3 for 5 with two runs and two rbis. Steinberg also had three hits to go with three rbis and Adelman scored three times.
Rose and Tori Rotundo had two hits for SLU, while VanGee scored twice. Berryhill took the loss allowing six hits and six earned runs in her five innings.
Tufts then switched fields and was underway 20 minutes later against UW-Platteville. They started fast with five in the first on a two-run home run by first-year
Kaitlyn Perucci, rbi singles from
Bela Jimenez and
Lindsay Neumann and a run-scoring double by
Kat Yuzefpolsky.
The Jumbos would add three more in the second and three in the third to lead 11-0. Moore contributed another rbi to her day in the second and Steinberg doubled home a run in the third.
First-year
Emilie Doty was the beneficiary of the offense, but also did not allow a hit in her three innings and struck out four. The Pioneers did break up the shutout with a home run from Calista Fuehrer in the top of the fifth.
Tufts' bats were led by Steinberg (2 for 2, 3 runs, rbi), Yuzefpolsky (2 for 2, run, rbi) and Perucci (1 for 3, 2 runs, 2 rbi). Adelman scored twice.
Sky Johnson pitched the final two innings.
The Jumbos return to action on Thursday with a 9 am start against Kalamazoo College.
--JUMBOS--
