Tufts pounds out 15 hits, sinks Coast Guard in sectional finals

May 10, 2009

BEVERLY, Mass. - Tufts University cranked out 15 hits and scored five runs in the top of the seventh as the Jumbos sunk Coast Guard, 10-1, to advance to the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championships in Montclair, N.J. Tufts, who went a perfect 4-0 at the Beverly, Mass. First Round site of competition, improves its overall record to an astonishing 42-1.

Tufts got the game started by quickly scoring a run in the top of the first inning. Leadoff hitter Laura Chapman (Seattle, Wash.), who went 3-for-5 on the day, reached on an infield single and then stole second to put herself in scoring position. A Coast Guard error allowed Christy Tinker (Woodbridge, Conn.) to reach while Chapman moved over to third. An RBI single by catcher Cara Hovhanessian (Farmington, Conn.) plated Chapman to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.

The lead moved to 2-0 in the top of the third as Lena Cantone (Southington, Conn.) laced a one-out single to centerfield to score Maya Ripecky (Chicago, Ill.), doubling the Tufts' advantage. Coast Guard did its best to hang tight as the Bears got a run back in the home half of the third off an RBI single up the middle off the bat of Courtney Wolf (Fredericksburg, Md.) to cut the lead in half, 2-1.

The Jumbos' bats continued in the fourth and sixth innings, as Tufts got a run off a sacrifice fly to right by Danielle Lopez (Danvers, Mass.) and scored twice with a double by Samantha Kuhles (Somerville, Conn.) and an RBI single from Lopez.

The exclamation point came in the seventh inning as the Jumbos strung together five hits and scored five runs to blow the game wide open en route to the 10-1 win. For the tournament, Tufts outscored its opponents 39-5 and batted .394 as a team.

The Jumbos now advance to the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championships in Montclair, N.J. on the campus of Montclair State University from May 15-19. Coast Guard ends its season at 39-7-1.