NEW LONDON, CT (May 21, 2023) -- A memorable and historic season for the No. 17 Tufts University baseball season came to an end on Sunday morning, as the Jumbos fell to Husson University 5-2 in a NCAA elimination game at Mitchell College in the 2023 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.
The Jumbos finish their fantastic season as the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champions, earning their seventh title in program history, while posting 31 victories on the campaign.
Tufts and Husson (25-18) didn't manage much offensively over the first two innings, but the Jumbos started to threaten in the top of the third as
Connor Flavin led off the frame with a single followed by a one-out single from
Jesse McCullough to put runners at first and second. After a balk,
Jimmy Evans lifted a sacrifice fly to score Flavin and give the Jumbos an early 1-0 lead.
The next batter up,
Connor Bowman, would follow with a RBI single to right field to bring around McCullough from second base to give the Jumbos a 2-0 advantage.
Husson battled right back as it managed to score a run on Tufts starter
Connor Kinney on a Jackson Curtis RBI infield single to pull the Eagles to within one at 2-1.
That's where the score would stay until the decisive bottom of the seventh inning, as Husson pushed across four runs including a big three-run double down the right field by Tanner Evans to make the score 4-2. Curtis singled in Evans on the next at-bat to give the Eagles the final cushion of victory.
Tufts would put a runner on in each of the eighth and ninth innings, but a line out in the ninth ended an attempted comeback for the Jumbos.
McCullough finished the morning with two hits and a run scored, while sophomore
Ben Leonard also tallied a 2-for-3 day with a stolen bases. Infielder
Patrick Solomon was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, and
Jimmy Evans finished 1-for 2 with a walk and RBI.
Kinney went a solid six innings in the start, allowing just four hits and three earned runs while fanning six hitters in his final start as a Jumbo.
Cameron Mayer also worked a scoreless ninth for Tufts, striking out two Eagle batters.
Curtis was 3-for-4 for Husson, while Evans finished 2-for-3 with three driven in and a run scored. Connor Abood worked 6.1 innings Sunday to keep the Eagles' season alive, while Alex Smith got the win as he tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of work. Ryan Robb got the save, his fourth of the season, with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Jumbos say good bye to 14 seniors after today's defeat, as the group has been very influential to the continued excellence of the program.
--JUMBOS--
