Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Trinity Following Dramatic Game Two Win

HARTFORD, CONN. (April 19, 2025) - The Tufts University baseball team split a hard-fought doubleheader with the Trinity College (Connecticut) Bantams, dropping game one 3-6 and coming back to win 17-11 in game two.

The Jumbos (13-16, 5-4 NESCAC EAST) started game one quickly, getting to Bantams (14-14) starter Brendan Grady early in the first inning. Rookie third baseman James Henshon continued his meteoric rise on offense, knocking a triple to right center in the top of the first. Cooper Smith singled right after to score the first year, and the Jumbos were off to an early lead. 

They tacked on a few more in the top of the second, after the inning was extended by a Trinity error. Henry Fleckner would round third to score on the error, and Ozzie Fleischer would follow soon after after a Jesse McCullough sacrifice fly. 

However, the home offense came alive in the bottom of the third inning. They plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to make it a 3-2 ballgame. Tufts failed to score through the remainder, and a four run bottom of the sixth finished the Bantams comeback ending in a 6-3 loss.

Game two saw Tufts hit the ground running once again, as scored first in the top of the second. Connor Brala smacked a double to the outfield to reach scoring position, and was scored after Owen McKiernan reached on an error by the Trinity shortstop.

Trinity tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, but the Jumbos responded with four of their own in the top of the sixth. Ben Leonard led off the inning with a big home run over the wall in right field, which was followed by a three-run blast by Fleckner to drive the Jumbos lead up to 5-1.

Trinity emerged from their slumber in the bottom of the same inning, and scorched the Jumbos pitching staff for eight runs in the frame. They added a 10th in the bottom of the seventh, and the visiting side was left with a steep hill to climb. 

Fleckner continued his incredible day with a leadoff triple in the top of the eighth, and came home after Brala flied out to center field. Despite only plating one run in the penultimate inning, the Jumbos still had three outs to muster a comeback.

McCullough led off the top of the ninth with a walk, and moved over after Leonard singled. James Henshon somehow managed to hit an even hotter bat as he homered to deep left field, bringing the Jumbos within one. Fleckner swatted his second triple of the game to put the tying run within 90 feet, and Brala knocked him home with an RBI groundout to tie it at 10-10.

First year closer Derek Desmarais shut the door on the Bantams with a clean bottom of the ninth, bringing the Jumbos up once again for the top of the first extra inning. The free baseball saw the Tufts offense explode, as pinch hitter AJ Lysko led off the frame with a single. Fleischer laid down a perfect sac-bunt to advance the runner, and McCullough walked to put another man on base. Leonard worked a walk after a new reliever took over on the bump, and the bases were loaded. Henshon singled to right to score McCullough and Lysko, giving Tufts the lead. A 12-10 lead, however, clearly did not satiate the Jumbos' undying hunger for runs, as they kept the rally going with an RBI double by Max Pavlik. Fleckner doubled down the line to left, clearing the base paths and putting Tufts up 15-10. The two-sport athlete advanced to third after a failed pick off attempt, and scored following an RBI double by Brala. McKiernan grounded out, scoring Brala, and the Jumbos now led by 17-10.

The Bantams, who had scored eight runs in an inning already, were unable to muster a comeback of their own despite a solo shot, but the scoreline held at 17-11.

Tufts moves to 13-16 on the season following the doubleheader split, and holds on to their second place position in the NESCAC East Division. They will be back in action next Wednesday in Norton as they play Wheaton in their second-to-last non conference game of the 2025 season.