Baseball Coasts by Tufts, 16-5

MEDFORD, Mass. – The Suffolk baseball team renewed a rivalry with Tufts Tuesday afternoon and put on an offensive show, as nine Rams combined for 20 hits to defeat the Jumbos, 16-5, at Huskins Field.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 16, Tufts 5
RECORDS: Suffolk (18-15) | Tufts (15-12)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk went through the order in the first frame as six Rams recorded a base hit to put four runs on the board. The Jumbos responded in the home half of the inning with three runs to trim the margin to one, 4-3.  

The Rams kept their hitting ways up in the second stanza. Brady Chant led off with a double, stole second and came on a single through the left side by Seth Coiley. Two batters later, Coiley crossed home on Will Hopkins single, which doubled the blue-and-gold's lead, 6-3.  

In the third, Chant hit his second double of the day and brought in Rich Gilbride, who reached on an error by Tufts' third baseman, to open the scoring once again. Before the Jumbos made a change on the hill, Coiley doubled down the left field line to score Chant. After the pitching change, and runners in scoring position a 53 ground out by Greg Speliotis tripled the Rams advantage, 9-3.  

The score stood sill until the sixth, where the Rams rang up four more runs to make it double digit distance, 13-3. A bases loaded walk by Rich Gilbride started the scoring with RBI singles by Chant and Coiley and a fielder's choice accounting for the three other runs in the frame.  

 A wild pitch in the eighth pushed Suffolk's lead even further, before Connor Troio went yard and brought in Hopkins with him to stretch the score to 16-4.  

The Jumbos put one up on the board in the ninth for the final 16-5 margin.   

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Kevin Sinatra earned the victory. Suffolk's starter, who faced 31 hitters, allowed four runs on six hits and five walks with four strikeouts to his credit. 
• Johnny Maffei (0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks) and Anthony Riga (1 R, 2 BB) each threw 1.0 inning of relief for the Rams. 
• Owen Copps slipped on the hill after giving up nine runs on 13 hits with just two Ks in the first 2.1 innigns.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Chant's day featured a 5-for-6 effort, with two doubles, one walk, two RBI, three runs and two stolen bases.
• Coiley contributed three RBI on four hits (one double) and scored twice. 
• Brigham tallied three hits, scored one run and brought in one run. 
• Gilbride, who walked twice, scored three times and notched one RBI. 
• Hopkins and Speliotis each had multiple hit days. Hopkins also scored twice and had one RBI, while Speliotis had a pair of RBi and scored once.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk met Tufts for the first time in the Anthony Del Prete era and first time since 2002. 
• The Rams defeated the Jumbos for the first time since the 2001 season. 
• Suffolk's 20 hits are the most this season and most since producing 20 hits in a 15-8 GNAC Quarterfinals win over the Lasers May 4, 2017. 
• Chant tied a personal-best five hits and matched a season-high three runs. 
• Troio hit his first collegiate homer on his first hit of the season, while racking up a career-high two RBI. 
• Coiley hit a career-high four hits and matched a season-best three RBI. 
• Brigham posted a personal-best three hits. 
• Gilbride notched a new career-high in runs scored as a Ram with three to his credit. 

POST-GAME PIC
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COMING UP
Suffolk heads to UMass Dartmouth Thursday, April 26 for a non-conference clash with the Corsairs set for 3:30 p.m.