Tufts Takes Williams 9-3 in Game One of Softball Championship

Courtesy Tufts Sports Information

Box Score

MEDFORD, Mass. - The Tufts softball team got 10 hits and six runs out of the top four spots in the batting order and earned a 9-3 victory over Williams College in the opening game of the 2009 NESCAC Softball Championship on Friday afternoon at Spicer Field.

The Jumbos (36-1) move on in the winner's bracket and will play Wesleyan, a 12-4 victory over Bates, on Saturday at 12:30 pm. Williams (15-16) will play Bates on Saturday at 10:00 am.

In addition to their 14 hits overall in the game, Tufts also took advantage of five errors by the Ephs. Senior CF Laura Chapman (Seattle, Wash.) went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, senior 3B Sam Kuhles (Somerville, N.J.) was 3 for 3 with two runs, senior 2B Danielle Lopez (Danvers, Mass.) finished 2 for 4 with a run and junior 1B Christy Tinker (Woodbridge, Conn.) had a 3 for 4 game to lead the Tufts attack. Senior Lauren Gelmetti (Westfield, N.J.) improved to 16-0 in the pitcher's circle, allowing seven hits and three runs in a complete game.

Senior Joey Lye (Scarborough, Ontario) had two hits at the top of the Williams batting order. Senior Morgan Simpson (McLean, Va.) was 1 for 2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sophomore pitcher Mary Beth Daub (Claremont, Conn.) took the loss, allowing six earned runs in a complete game.

The Jumbos scored in the bottom of the first after Chapman led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second and scored on an errant throw after a base hit by Lopez. Williams answered in the second when Simpson walked and came around to score on a single by first-year 2B Allison Hart (Roswell, Ga.).

The next three runs scored by Tufts were unearned. Two Williams errors led to two Tufts runs in the second, and an errant throw on a pick-off attempt gave Tufts a 4-1 lead in the third. Senior Libby Copeland-Halperin (New York, N.Y.) ripped a solo home run for the Ephs with two outs in the top of the fourth making it 4-2. However, the Jumbos scored twice in the fourth on four hits and a Williams error, with Chapman and Kuhles both hitting singles and scoring.

Up 6-2 heading into the sixth, Gelmetti gave up another two-out solo shot to Morgan that pulled the Ephs within three runs. As they did all game, the Jumbos followed up innings in which they allowed runs by scoring multiple runs of their own. They scored three times in the sixth, including a two-run double off the bat of senior catcher Cara Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.). Gelmetti pitched a 1-2-3 seventh and the Jumbos advanced.