Baseball Takes Win in Close Battle with Beacons

MEDFORD, MA (March 25, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team battled for a 5-4 victory over the UMass Boston Beacons in a thrilling Tuesday afternoon affair on Sol Gittleman.

The Jumbos (6-9) found themselves down a run early after the Beacons (10-5) loaded up the bases in the top of the first. Tufts starter Michael O'Brien managed to limit the damage to just a single run thanks to some great defense behind him. After a passed ball squeaked by catcher Connor Brala, one Beacon came around to score. The runner that was previously on second got greedy rounding the bag at third, allowing Brala to flip the ball to Cooper Smith, who was covering the plate from first after O'Brien was taken out of the play by a collision involving the lead runner. Smith squeezed the ball and applied the tag, ending the inning at just one run scored for the Boston-based visitors. 

The Tufts offense took a bit to get adjusted, as they struggled to link hits together against the Boston starter. The Jumbos eventually got on the board in the fifth with a big three run inning. 

Jesse McCullough led off the frame with a walk, immediately snatching second base on a steal. Ben Leonard and AJ Lysko each worked walks to fill up the bags, and Smith advanced them station to station to score the tying run before an out was recorded. James Henshon was up next, and lifted the ball to center field to earn the sacrifice RBI; giving Tufts the 2-1 lead. The third run came when pinch hitter Nick Banner, filling in for Brala behind the dish, knocked a single up the middle to plate the third and final run of the inning.

The Beacons showed their resilient nature with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, and added another in the top of the seventh to retake the lead. Tufts answered with a pair of runs of their own after the stretch. It was Banner who stepped up with a big swing once again, as the rookie drove a double off the wall to score Henshon and Owen McKiernan, each runner having reached on a base hit earlier in the inning.

Tufts had their lead, albeit a narrow one by a 5-4 margin. The bottom of the eighth saw Leonard stranded at third, so it came down to the pitching staff to secure the win in the ninth. Landon Meng got the ball for the final frame, and mowed down the final trio of Beacon batters with a ground out, a strikeout and a pop out in foul territory to end it. It was the first save of Meng's career, and was the first win of the season for O'Brien.

Tufts will begin conference play this coming weekend as they host the Bates Bobcats for a three game series beginning on Friday afternoon. First pitch on Friday will be at 3:00 pm.