BRUNSWICK, ME (March 27,2026) – The Tufts University baseball team defeated fellow NESCAC opponents Bowdoin College, 6-3, to open conference action this afternoon at Pickard Baseball Diamond on a cold and sunny day.
The Jumbos (12-2, 1-0 NESCAC), started with
Cole Donato on the mound for his fourth start of the season. The senior held the Polar Bears scoreless through the first 4.1 innings of play with five strikeouts and only allowing two hits. Bowdoin was able to break through Donato's command with three runs in the bottom of the fifth.
After four scoreless innings from both teams, the Jumbos put together a six-run barrage in the top of the fifth.
AJ Lysko led off the inning with a single into right center field and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Tom Pender brought Lysko home with an RBI single up the middle.
Jesse McCullough then reached first on a throwing error by the Bowdoin catcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Malcolm Whitfield laid down the second consecutive bunt to fill the bases and
Jack Kamin walked after an eight pitch at-bat to push Pender home.
James Henshon hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score McCullough.
Tate Bannish tacked on two more with a two-run triple down the right field line and
Max Pavlik drove in the final tally of the frame with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Bannish.
The Polar Bears cut the Jumbos' lead in half with a three-run bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 6-3 game. Conor Moriarty and Reuben Siegel reached on two walks and Liam Foley carried a ball over the left center field fence for a 3-run home run.
Donato responded to his disappointing fifth frame by whiffing two batters in the sixth with two runners on to escape the jam. The Walpole native earned his fourth win of the season and remains undefeated, striking out a career-high nine batters while allowing three runs on six hits in 7.0 innings of work.
Mitchell Hwang relieved Donato in the eight inning and went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning with one strikeout before
Derek Desmarais replaced him in the ninth to finish off the game and earn his third save of the season.
Whitfield (2-for-4) recorded two hits for the third time in the last four outings and extended his hit streak to four games. Kamin (2-for-4) extended his hit streak to eight games.
The Jumbos will stay in Brunswick, ME as they take on Bowdoin again on Sunday for a doubleheader matchup at 12 PM!
--JUMBOS--
