After three straight rain outs, Brandeis softball took the field and picked up where they left off falling flat against Curry 6-0. On top of their April 14 double header sweep at the hands of Amherst drops the Judges back to .500 (14-14).
Curry jumped on rookie starter Emily Vaillette 10 in the first inning, squeezing out two runs on three singles. It was all that pitcher Kim Sturgis needed as she proceeded to mow down Brandeis for a complete three-hit shut out, also notching six strike outs in the process.
Vaillette pitched valiantly for her cause and was able to match Sturgis in innings but Curry was ready for her, pounding out 12 hits and added insurance runs in the fifth (4-0) and seventh innings (6-0). However the major culprit was the lack of hitting that sent Brandeis softball into a free fall at the beginning of the year. The only major gasp came in the fourth inning when Natalie Volpe 08 picked up her second hit of the game with a one out single to the wall, unfortunately she was nailed trying to stretch it to a double and a Kaitlin Streilein 10 pinch hit single in the last inning was all they could muster up.
It was the third straight loss in a troubling trend that recurred back on April 14 as the Judges were destroyed by Amherst 9-0 and 6-1 in double-header action.
Amherst hurler Alex Chang-Graham held Brandeis to one hit and even though Amherst had a massive lead, left the ball in the hands of Maddie Tamagni who finished game one with two strike outs and a walk for good measure.
Allie Mussen 10 pitched all of game one, giving up nine hits, nine runs, all earned and had three strikeouts. To complement the lack of offense in game one, Brandeis also had two errors.
Game two was little better as pitcher Samantha Miller mowed down the first nine batters she faced. Still, Brandeis stayed in it, trailing 1-0 until the fourth inning when Amherst jumped out for three runs. Brandeis was able to turn three singles into a run in the fifth inning but Amherst added two more and just like game one, Tamagni shut out the final frame. Samantha Worth 09 went 1-3 with a run scored thanks to Marissa Rubins 07 RBI single in the fifth inning.
Vaillette was Brandeiss sacrificial lamb in game two and besides the 11 hits and six runs, pitched well with four strikeouts and no walks and only two runs were earned. The defense added another pair of errors in game two though Amherst had one blemish of their own.
Obviously, after missing three straight games from rain outs, rust is inevitable but the evaporation of the offense has to be worrying to Coach Jessica Johnsons squad as a lack of timely hitting dug them into a hole and a hot streak brought them on top. Perhaps it is fitting for a team in flux to go from hitless wonders to Brandeis Bombers. Whatever the identity of this team is, it is up to Coach Johnson to chisel it and from it, consistency so that this season that her first season can be on the right side of .500.
Brandeis softball takes on Bowdoin College in a double header on April 21 then go down to Medford and take on Tufts on April 23 before returning home to face Regis College.
