MEDFORD, Mass. -- The Bates College softball team dropped its NESCAC East Division opener on Friday at red-hot Tufts University, as the host Jumbos, ranked No. 9 in Division III, won 9-1 to go 13-0 on the season.

Tufts put four runs on the scoreboard in their first at-bat. Maya Ripecky poked a two-run double to spark the inning. Ripecky finished the game 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Christy Tinker also hit a run-scoring single in the first.

Jumbo starter Izzie Santone retired 12 of the first 13 Bates hitters that she faced. Bobcat first-year catcher Leah Maciejewski (Tewksbury, Mass.) hit a lead-off single in the second, but was stranded at third. The Jumbos added two unearned runs in the third, with Ripecky's lead-off single getting the inning going. She scored on a wild pitch and Laura Chapman plated another run with a sacrifice fly.

Bates broke up the shutout in the fifth when first-year DH Monica Berube (Plaistow, N.H.) led off with a single. Pinch runner Vanessa Truglio (New Britain, Conn.) moved around the bases during the next three at-bats, scoring on a ground out by first-year CF Lauren Dobish (Champersburg, Pa.). Tufts ended it in the bottom of the inning, scoring three times after two were out.

Santone finished with a four-hitter, improving to 7-0 overall.

Bates first-year reliever Kristen Finn (Winthrop, Mass.) pitched two innings and did not allow an earned run.

The teams continue their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon.

STATS: Tufts 9, Bates 1