Tufts Wins First Baseball Championship Since 2002 with 6-1 Victory Over Bowdoin

Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

Box Score

MEDFORD, Mass. – Tufts University captured its second NESCAC baseball crown on Sunday by defeating Bowdoin College by a score of 6-1 at Huskins Field. The Jumbos earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Tufts could not push across any runs until the sixth inning of play, when the home team took advantage of three errors by the Bowdoin defense. Tufts scored four runs in the sixth, two of them earned, including RBI singles by junior RF Chase Rose (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and senior catcher Alex Perry (Danvers, Mass.).

Rose, who added an sacrifice fly in the next inning, had stayed in the game after being hit in the head with a pitch in the bottom of the fourth. Rose spent several minutes on the ground before getting to his feet and hustling to first base. Sophomore DH Matt Collins (Hopkinton, Mass.) had two hits for Tufts. He scored a run in the sixth and followed Rose with an RBI double in the seventh as Tufts tacked on two more runs and extended their advantage to 6-1.

The Jumbos trailed 1-0 for five and a half innings. In the first inning, the first two hitters for Bowdoin reached safely including junior LF Matt Ruane's (Belmont, Mass.) mammoth double to center field. That knocked in Polar Bear leadoff batter Reid Auger (Billerica, Mass.), who walked to start the game.

After the first two batters, Bowdoin would not be able to muster much more offensive production against eight Tufts pitchers. Only sophomore starter Dave Ryan (Trumbull, Conn.) pitched two innings. The Tufts staff allowed only three hits while walking four batters and striking out six Polar Bears. Sophomore Jake Crawford (Boise, Idaho) pitched a perfect top of the sixth to pick up the win, his first decision of the season. Senior Tom Hill (Robbinsville, N.J.) pitched a 1-2-3 fourth with two strikeouts and junior Ed Bernstein (Foxborough, Mass.) struck out the side in the eighth.

Starting pitcher Ben Higgins (Moncton, New Brunswick) took the loss for Bowdoin, dropping to 0-3 after pitching six innings. Higgins was cruising until the sixth, but could not close out the Jumbos and got no support from the defense behind him. The junior struck out three batters and allowed seven hits.

This is the second NESCAC championship for the Tufts University baseball program. As a sidelight to the team championship, the win was also the 500th in Coach John Casey's 27 seasons with the Jumbos.

Junior 2B Frank Petroskey (Dallas, Texas) also had two hits for Tufts, while senior 1B Nate Bankoff (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored two runs. The Jumbos, who went 3-0 in the NESCAC Championship this weekend, are now 31-5 on the season.

Bowdoin, who twice won elimination games on Sunday, finished their campaign at a 25-15 mark.

2010 NESCAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Friday, May 7, through Sunday, May 9

Format
The top two teams in each division shall qualify for the NESCAC Baseball Championship. The double elimination Championship will be hosted by the East Division winner beginning Friday, May 7 through Sunday, May 9. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Selection
Pairings will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season. The top two teams in each division shall qualify for the tournament and will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

1. NESCAC divisional games won
2. NESCAC divisional winning percentage
3. Head-to-head results
4. Overall winning percentage
5. Coin flip

Tournament Schedule (2 Field Format)