The Brandeis baseball teams home opener was a huge success, as the Judges defeated the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards 15-4 on Tuesday. Brandeis entered the contest 4-3 with three of those wins coming against UAA opponents in Florida.
Brandeis bats got started early as 1B/OF Chris Navis 06 led off the game with a home run. Navis described the homerun after the game. I was looking for my pitch. [Kraig Moody] threw me an inside fastball and I sat on it. The momentum continued, as Brandeis scored 14 runs through five innings. Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup recorded at least one RBI.
Shortstop Zach Golden 06 led the Judges with a 3-hit performance, while scoring three runs and also knocking in an RBI. Third baseman Jeff Bourdon 07 went 2-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Designated hitter Jon Winston 07 hit a home run in the second inning. He went 2-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
Brandeis came into the game confident that it could beat Wentworth. Wentworth is not exactly a top caliber team. With teams like this, we have to come out and jump on early, Navis said.
By doing just that, Brandeis was able to let many of its pitchers get some throwing in, with most of them pitching only one inning. We had a couple of days off so we tried to give as many innings to our pitchers as we could, bench coach Brian Lambert said.
Brandeis pitching also faired well. Ten pitchers were able to get their work in (an NCAA Division III record for the winning team). Tim Dunphy 06 earned the victory with a 1-2-3 fifth inning, striking out two, to improve to 1-2 on the season. Brandon Pick 08 was the only pitcher to allow any runs, giving up four.
Brandeis has high hopes for this season as it returns three All-UAA first team performers in Ben Dashefsky 07, Jon Winston 07, and Golden. Winston finished second in batting last year, with a .529 average and four doubles.
Tim Dunphy 06, a two-time All-UAA honoree, leads the pitching staff. Lambert believes the Judges' bats will make or break the season. If we hit well have a good chance of winning. We have a great pitching staff;
its just a matter of if we can get timely hits, he said.
The win improves the Judges record to 5-3. Wentworth falls to 2-9. Brandeis is in action today at 3 p.m. against Roger Williams University.
