Jumbos Split Doubleheader with Whittier to Conclude West Coast Slate

WHITTIER, CALIF. (March 21, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team split their doubleheader with Whittier College on Friday, winning the first game in the afternoon before dropping a nailbiter in the evening on the grass at Hugh B. Mendez Stadium on Friday.

The Jumbos (5-9) started the day with an edge to their pitching that was the opposite of what might be expected on the tail end of a cross-country road trip as graduate student Silas Reed glided through his first time through the Poet's (6-14) order. The starter picked up three strikeouts in the first inning en route to the win.

The Tufts offense gave Reed some run support before he even stepped onto the mound, however. They tacked on two runs in the top of the first to jump ahead early. James Henshon drove in the pair of runs with one swing, smacking a base hit through the right side to score Cooper Smith and Ben Leonard.

The Poets answered with their run in the second, but the Jumbo had a response of their own to top the third inning. Leonard reached base on an error, and AJ Lysko moved him up a bag after working a walk. Both baserunners came around to score when Smith hit a double down the left field line. Connor Brala stayed hot with an RBI single through the right side to score Smith, and Brala himself came home off of an Ozzie Fleischer two RBI single to right center to score the senior catcher and Henshon. Tufts was off to a 7-1 lead after just three innings, and Reed was grooving on the bump. 

Reed finished his day with six complete innings pitched, three runs allowed and seven strike outs to his name. An explosive top of the seventh by the offense helped secure the win for Tufts. Caden Abraham picked up a pair of RBI after scoring Henshon and Smith with a single, while McCullough earned an RBI fielder's choice to score Brala. Abraham came around to score due to a balk, and Cole Bohane, entering the game as a pinch hitter, put a bow on it with a homer to score McCullough. Tufts led 11-2, but a four run rally in the bottom of the seventh made it an 11-6 final score in game one of the doubleheader.

Game two saw Connor Podeszwa take the ball to begin the game. The senior crafted a gritty eighth inning outing that saw him pitch out of numerous jams, most notably a two-out two-on situation in the eighth. Podeszwa had the second baseman McCullough to thank, as the Whittier batter tagged a fading line drive up the middle. McCullough lunged to his right and stabbed out at the ball, making a highlight reel grab to keep the game scoreless into the ninth.

Tufts had a chance in the top of the ninth, as Abraham came on as a pinch runner and stole second, but he was stranded in scoring position to keep the Jumbos off the board into the bottom of the ninth. The Poets managed to squeak out a few hits and plated the winning run to take the series.

Tufts will head back to the East Coast and will have the weekend off as they prepare to head into town to take on UMass Boston as their non conference slate continues.