Medford, Mass. - Senior RHP Alex Shafer (Baltimore, Md.) allowed six hots over six-plus innings with nine strikeouts and first-year 1B Sean Meth (Sands Point, N.Y.) drove in both runs to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 2-1 victory over the Tufts University Jumbos in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East Division action this afternoon.  The win in the first game of today's doubleheader tied Trinity and Tufts for first place in the division with 4-2 records for a short time, before the Jumbos clinched the NESCAC East pennant with a 1-0 win in the nightcap.  The Bantams are now 9-6, while Tufts, which had won yesterday's series opener in Hartford, 8-0, improves to 10-3 and will face NESCAC West Division winner Amherst in the conference's three-game championship series next weekend. 

The first game was seven innings and the Jumbos took a 1-0 lead in the third on doubles by Nate Bozzella and Jimmy Evans. In the Trinity fifth, base hits by senior co-captain Alex Rodriguez (Windsor, Conn.) and rookie SS Jack Mathews (Westport, Conn.) set the table for Meth who knocked a two-run single giving the visitors the lead. The Bantams left the bases loaded with one out in the frame, as Tufts starter Cameron Mayer worked out of the jam.  Peter DeMaria and Clay Sowell opened the Tufts sixth with singles, but Shafer struck out the next three batters to hold the lead. Tufts then had two on in the seventh with one out, but Shafer gave way to senior tri-captain RHP Justin Olson (Avon, Conn.) who earned the save by getting the final two outs.  

In the decisive game two, Brendan McFall struck out nine and did not walk anyone. Trinity did not have a runner reach second base. Trinity pitchers James Fahey (Danbury, Conn.), Ian Brown (Tampa, Fla.) and Jacob Mello (Kennebunk, Maine) combined to allow just three Tufts hits with seven strikeouts.  Tufts' Miles Reid led off the bottom of the first with a base hit to right and scored the game's only run on a sacrifice fly from Clay Sowell.  Meth and senior C Eric Thronson (McLean, Va.) got the two Trinity hits.  It was a great day for the pitching, as the two teams combined for 31 innings in the two games allowing just 18 hits and four earned runs.