HARWICH, MA – Third-seeded Tufts University (34-7)¬ topped #6 Saint Joseph's College (28-14), 3-1, in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA DIII New England Baseball Regional Tournament at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon. Starting pitcher Nick Whittaker (Yarmouth, Maine) allowed three runs (two earned) off seven hits and five walks with eight strikeouts in 7.1 innings and falls to 6-3 on the season with the loss.

With the result, Saint Joseph's faces the loser of today's late game – featuring #2 Southern Maine and #7 Worcester State – in an elimination contest tomorrow at 1:00 PM. Tufts plays the Southern Maine/Worcester State winner at 8:00 PM on Thursday.

The Jumbos received nine strong innings from junior ace Kyle Slinger (Danville, Calif.), who improved to 9-0 after allowing one run off three hits while fanning nine in a complete-game victory. After allowing a run off two hits in the fourth, the southpaw proceeded to retire 14 consecutive batters over the following four-plus frames before two runners reached on errors with two out in the ninth. Slinger worked out of the late jam by inducing a game-ending groundout off the bat of sophomore Taylor Reuillard (Biddeford, Maine).

Tufts rapped a pair of hits and took advantage of a passed ball to secure a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Sophomore shortstop Matt Moser (Great Falls, Va.) led off with a single up the middle and later moved up 90 feet when a Whittaker pitch eluded junior catcher Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.). With two out, Moser traded places with senior catcher Nick Cutsumpas (White Plains, N.Y.), who drilled a 1-2 offering to the base of the fence in left for a run-scoring double.

The Monks managed to knot the game at 1-1 with two hits in the top of the fourth. Senior right fielder Alex Lorenc (Nanuet, N.Y.) opened the inning with a line-drive single up the middle, scampered into scoring position on a Nic Lops (South Portland, Maine/Cheverus) sac bunt, and scored when Reuillard ripped a single to left.

The stalemate proved to be short-lived however, as the Jumbos regained the lead with a run off a pair of hits in their next turn at bat. With one out, junior designated hitter Bryan Egan (Watervliet, N.Y.) singled to center and quickly advanced to second when Whittaker unleashed a 58-footer, which was ruled as a wild pitch. Up next was junior right fielder James Howard (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), who plated Egan with a base knock to left field.

Tufts tacked on an insurance run in the fifth when freshman second baseman Tom Petry (Worcester, Mass.) led off with a walk, moved to third on a Connor McDavitt (Holden, Mass.) single, and scored when senior third baseman Wade Hauser (Palo Alto, Calif.) lofted a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 3-1 game.

The Jumbos stranded five runners in the seventh and eighth innings, as Whittaker escaped a bases-loaded predicament with a groundout in the former and sophomore reliever Riley Cox (Westport, Mass.) induced an inning-ending grounder to second in the latter.

With a two-run lead in the top of the ninth, Slinger – having already saved the Jumbos' bullpen for future tourney action - looked to empty the tank and notched two quick outs on just three pitches before Lops and Coyne reached on back to back errors by Moser. The threat was thwarted however, as Reuillard hit a slow roller to third and was thrown out at first by Hauser on a bang-bang play.

Lorenc was the game's lone repeat hitter as the senior went 2-4 with a run scored in a losing effort. Cox was effective in 2/3 inning of relief with a walk and a strikeout to close out the contest on the hill for the Monks.

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.