Baseball Beats Brandeis in Opening Day Battle

MEDFORD, MA (March 5, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team began their season with a strong win against Brandeis on Wednesday afternoon at Sol Gittleman Park.

Emmet Christian got the ball to start his college career and started strong on the mound. The rookie hurler demonstrated his control with the breaking ball and a strong fastball that saw four Judges strike out in two innings. Christian ended his collegiate debut with a win after four complete innings of work, while limiting the Judges to just one hit. 

The strong debut set the tone of the day for the Jumbos (1-0, 0-0 NESCAC) as they faced off against talented two-way starter Eddie Zanor on the mound for the Judges (2-4, 0-0 UAA). They took very little time in producing their first run of the season, as the speedy centerfielder Henry Fleckner reached base on a fielder's choice. Fleckner weathered one pickoff attempt before snatching second base on the very next pitch. Graduate student Connor Brala stepped up for his first at bat of his fifth opening day and took Zanor to the gap in right-center field. The relay from center was not in time as the senior outfielder came around from second base to score, and Brala earned the first RBI of the season for Tufts.

The score line held from there as Zanor settled in and found his command. The Tufts tossers absolutely stifled the Brandeis bats in the meantime, as Christian completed his four innings with just a single hit allowed and sophomore Grant Strother came on in relief to pitch a pair of scoreless innings, striking out a duo of Judge hitters. 

The Tufts offense continued to look solid, if a bit unlucky. They were making solid contact in most of their at bats, striking out only four times total. They would leave six runners stranded by the end of the game, three fewer than the nine runners left on base by Brandeis.

Southpaw Jack McLaughlin was the next pitcher to take over for Tufts, and he followed suit with the two prior players to take the mound. He threw for two hitless innings, blanking Brandeis and catching a batter looking for his first punch out of the season. 

Sophomore Max Pavlik put the second run on the board for Tufts, singling to right field to drive in senior Ben Leonard. Leonard had landed at second on a free pass, reaching on a hit by pitch and advancing on a wild one that bounced off the backstop. That second run would be the last run scored of the game, as the lights came on at Gittleman Park to guide the teams through the waning innings. 

The game was bookended by first year pitchers, as freshman Lachlan Ellis took the ball in the ninth. The rookie displayed a lively fastball with a big sweeping curveball to mix it up, and he struck out a batter en route to a trouble-free final inning of opening day.

It's a quick turnaround for the Jumbos as they prepare for a doubleheader against the 2023 Division III National Champions Eastern Connecticut State University at Sol Gittleman Park on Saturday, with game one beginning at noon.