Extending their record to 13-12, the Judges softball team spent the last week winning in all of their games on the road. It started with a rout against Lassell College last Thursday, with the Judges outscoring their foes a combined 18-6.
In the first round of the double-header the Judges got off to a great start with pitcher Melissa Nolan ’14 giving up a mere three hits and no runs in a 9-0 shut out. Brandeis got six runs on the board beginning with three consecutive doubles by Brittany Grimm ’12, Samantha Gajewski ’12 and Courtney Kelley ’11. After getting two runs on the board and suffering two outs, the Judges got back to scoring with doubles from Lauren Porcano ’12 and Marianne Specker ’12. Carly Schmand ’11 also got on the board with a base hit before Grimm got her second double of the day for the final RBI of the inning. The Judges got back to scoring in the sixth with singles from Specker and Schmand followed up by an RBI single by Grimm. A second Gajewski double brought Schmand back home and Gajewski eventually got an unearned run on a passed ball. For the bottom of the sixth Caroline Miller ’12 took over pitching and maintained the shutout for the 9-0 win.
In the second game the Judges got on the board quickly with two runs in the first and three more unanswered runs in the second. Schmand, Grimm and Gajewski all played well, getting a double, RBI single and RBI double respectively before a double play by Lassell ended the inning with a double play leaving one runner stranded on-base. With five hits in the second, another three runners made it around the bases to get it to a 5-0 ballgame.
The Judges scored another run in the third before Lassell began to answer with run of their own after sacrifice hits helped Talia Dechiara round the bases. Lassell got back in the running at the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs and bringing the game to within a run at 6-5. The Judges got back to a four-run lead after scoring three runs in the seventh by capitalizing on a Lassell error. Specker walked and was followed by Schmand who made it to first base off of an error by Lassell that sent Specker to second. After both stole bases and were in scoring position, they both advanced again due to a wild pitch. Grimm followed up with an RBI double. After advancing to third, Grimm scored off an RBI single by Kelley. Lassell tried to come back with a run in the bottom of the inning, but just couldn’t come back from their deficit and ended the game 9-6 for Brandeis.
After almost a week of rest, the Judges got back to work on Wednesday facing Suffolk University. In the first game the Rams got on the board first with a run in the fifth with an RBI triple. Brandeis got back with a little luck in the seventh when Nolan had her own RBI triple, which, because of an error, got her around the bases for a 2-1 win.
In the final battle of the afternoon, the Judges appeared energized from their close call and went on to crush the Rams 13-1. The Judges got to work quickly with singles by Schmand, Kelley and Nolan, the last one including an RBI. Suffolk bit back and got their one run of the game during the second inning on a sacrifice fly ball. Between the third and sixth innings the Judges put up five unanswered runs, including an RBI triple for Lauren Porcaro ’12 and an RBI single for Specker in the fourth. Porcaro went on to get a two-run homer in the sixth to bring the lead to 6-1. If there was any chance of a comeback for Suffolk, they wasted it as the Judges earned a whopping seven runs in the seventh inning. After a hit-by-pitch put Kelley on base and a single by Nolan, the stage was set for Maxie Hirschler ’12 to manage an RBI double followed by Gajewski with a two-RBI triple and no outs to bring the lead to 9-1.
After two outs, Specker singled to bring Gajewski home while Schmand’s reach on an error in the next at-bat resulted in a single. Grimm also got an RBI single before Kelley was again hit by a pitch and loaded the bases. Nolan’s reach on an error got an un-earned RBI and the last run of the game came from Hirschler walking, forcing a run. Casey Ducinski pitched her way through the final inning to complete the game with four strikeouts and only five hits allowed.
The Judges next play this afternoon as they host Babson at 3 and 5 p.m. in a doubleheader.
