Baseball Falls at Regionally-Ranked Tufts, 8-1

MEDFORD, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team absorbed an 8-1 setback at regionally-ranked Tufts Monday afternoon at Huskins Field.

The Lions drop to 15-20 on the year while the Jumbos, ranked No. 2 in the NEIBA Regional Poll, improve to 23-5 overall.

Zach Zaino (Bourne, Mass.) finished with a base knock, a stolen base and one RBI on the day while Zachary Carmody (Babylon, N.Y.) crossed the dish once and landed one hit. Andrew Santora (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Nick Story (Gilbert, Ariz.) each added a base hit in the contest.

The home club claimed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Matt Moser rounded third and scored from second base on a two-out single to center by Mike McLaughlin.

Tufts doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the second inning. Tom Petry trotted home on an RBI single off the bat of Kevin Godin.

The Jumbos tacked on three runs in the third to widen the gap to 5-0. Godin doubled to left to drive in McLaughlin and Tommy O'Hara. Cody McCallum picked up an RBI as he grounded out to the first baseman to plate Godin from third.

Tufts manufactured three runs in the sixth to extend its lead to 8-0. Moser scorched a double down the line in left to score Harry Brown and McCallum. Will Shackelford crossed the dish as Stephan White reached on a fielder's choice.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the top of the seventh, cutting the deficit to 8-1. With two runners aboard, Zaino laced a single to centerfield to deliver the Lions' lone run of the game.

Ryan Spina (Selden, N.Y.) pitched one inning and struck out two batters in his second start of the season. Kenny Sorensen (Quincy, Mass.) worked four innings of relief and registered a pair of strikeouts in his team-leading 12th appearance of the spring. Xavier Faria (Assonet, Mass.) hurled three innings and finished with three strikeouts in his eighth relief outing of the year.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will square off against Lasell April 26 under the lights at Brandeis University's Stein Diamond.