Tessier Tosses Complete Game as Baseball Tops No. 18 Tufts, 7-1

MEDFORD, Mass.- Junior Jon Tessier (Coronado, Calif.) threw a 118-pitch complete game to propel the Eastern Nazarene College baseball team to its first-ever win over No. 18 Tufts, a 7-1 triumph on the road Monday afternoon. The victory also marked the first win over a nationally-ranked team in school history.

The Lions improve to 12-12 on the season with the victory while the Jumbos slip to 14-3 overall.

Hernhy Lara (Boston, Mass.) notched a team-high two hits and added one run scored. Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.) and Frank Landeiro (Orlando, Fla.) each finished with one base knock, two RBIs, and one run scored. Shane McNamara (Londonderry, N.H.) and Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) chipped in with one hit and one RBI apiece.

The visitors tallied one run in the top of the first inning to grab a 1-0 lead. McNamara roped a double to right-centerfield to drive in Landeiro from second base.

The home side answered with a run in the bottom of the frame to knot the contest at 1-1. Miles Reid laced a double down the left field line to plate Ozzie Fleischer.

Eastern Nazarene produced four runs in the sixth to claim a 5-1 advantage. Hunter Leroux-Porter (Greenland, N.H.) and Bean drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to score Ethaniel Almendarez (Lynn, Mass.) and Lara. Cam Barry (Manchester, Conn.) and Leroux-Porter both crossed the dish on an infield hit by Landeiro.

The Lions tacked on two runs in the eighth inning to widen the margin to 7-1. Bean scorched a two-out double down the left field line to drive in Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.). Pesce picked up his team-leading 24th RBI of the spring with a single up the middle to plate Bean from third.

Tessier hurled his first collegiate complete game to improve to 5-0 on the mound. The junior right-hander racked up seven strikeouts while yielding seven hits and two walks in his third start of the year.

Looking ahead, Eastern Nazarene travels to Worcester State April 6 for a midweek matchup.