The last week has not been what the Brandeis baseball team had hoped for. The UAA Tournament took place in Central Florida between March 10 and 17. Rochester, Case Western, Washington University and Emory participated in the contest, each playing eight games.
The Judges last game took place on Saturday against the Rochester YellowJackets. After beating Rochester five days earlier, Brandeis was not able to return to Waltham on a winning streak. The Judges led 2-1 in the top of the fourth, but were unable to maintain the lead for long. Rochester went on to score runs in each of the next four innings, finishing the game 7-3. The game was based on small ball, as each team had only one double. The YellowJackets scored their first run in the second after a costly walk and wild pitch. The Judges were unable to piece their hits together and helped Rochester by making three errors and ending their half of the inning by grounding into a double play four times.
One bright spot for Brandeis was their ability to force opponents to leave runners on base, as the YellowJackets left eight on base during the game. Brian Allen ’15 led the Judges in hits by going three for three, with Nick Cortese ’13 and Kevin Barry ’14 each contributing with two hits, the latter also pushing ahead two RBI’s.
Chris Ferro ’13 was able to score two of the team’s three runs. Brandeis’ starting pitcher Mike Swerdloff ’13 took the mound for a solid 6 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs, but another two unearned from errors. Rochester had a balanced attack on offense putting up 13 hits. Ethan Sander, Brendan Garry, Brian Munoz, Jake Meyerson and Evan Janifer each had two hits, while Sander and Munoz also had two RBI’s and Garry and Janifer each scored twice. The YellowJacket pitcher, Jon Menke, pitched a complete game allowing three earned runs and striking out four. Rochester leaves the tournament 4-4 overall and in conference.
Brandeis’ penultimate Florida game was a 9-4 loss to the Emory Eagles. The game began with a spring of offense with five runs being scored in the first inning. As seems to be the trend with the Judges, they made some costly errors and were unable to string along hits to develop a lead. Emory only out hit Brandeis by two; 14 to 12. The Eagles subsidized their hitting by stealing five bases, four of which directly led to runs being scored.
The Judges offense was led by Liam O’Connor ’16 who had a career high four hits, and Kevin Barry who was three for four with two RBI’s. Brandeis’ starter Kyle Brenner ’15 was able to stay on the mound for eight innings, allowing 14 hits and nine runs, but only five earned while striking out five. The Eagles hitting was led by Brandon Hannon, Jared Welch, Ben Vizvary, Jared Kahn and Chris Slivka, each getting multiple hits with the latter two getting three hits each. Slivka led the game with five RBI’s and was only a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Emory’s starting pitcher went the whole nine yards pitching a complete game. The Eagles stand at 4-4 in conference and 10-9 overall.
The Judges lost the previous day to Case Western, after having defeated them in extra innings two days prior. This game was not close, ending in an 11-0 shutout, marking the second time that Brandeis has been shutout this season. The Judges gave up three errors, walked four, allowed three steals, including one of home, and hit into four double plays. Brandeis had five hits in the game while the Spartans had 14. Elio Fernandez ’15 pitched six solid innings for the Judges, striking out three and allowing three earned runs, with another four being unearned. Jesse Link ’13 came in later to maintain the score with two innings allowing no runs.
Case Western put up a solid team with five players having multiple hits. Cain Kerrigan was three for six, coming within a home run of hitting for the cycle. The Spartans are first in the conference with a 5-3 record in the UAA and 7-4 overall.
Brandeis lost their first doubleheader of the season with a 13-5 loss to Washington University and an 8-6 loss to Emory. The second game of the day against Emory was a back-and-forth match with five lead changes. The Judges greatest flaw in this game was that they left 14 runners on base. The Eagles were able to capitalize on mistakes by the Judges including scoring two runs as a result of a walk, bunt, wild pitch and sacrifice fly in the fifth. Emory also scored four runs in the seventh as a result of two walks, two errors and a wild pitch.
Despite leaving with the loss, Brandeis outhit the Eagles 15 to 9. O’Connor went three for five with a double and three RBI’s as Cortese added with two hits of his own and Brian Ing ’15 also put forward three. Kevin Barry reached base on all five at-bats with three hits and two walks. The trio of Judges with three hits each set a career high in the category. James Machado ’16 began the game with six innings allowing six hits and five runs. Jesse Link was placed with the loss after coming into relieve for 2/3 of an inning and allowing two runs on two hits. The Eagles’ Wes Peacock, Slivka and Mark Lindemann had multi-hit games. Peacock, Jared Kahn and Jordan Selbach each scored twice.
Emory’s starting pitcher did not last long, leaving after 4 2/3, allowing three walks and three unearned runs on eight hits. Matt McMahon received the win after pitching 3 2/3 and Graham Bloomsmith earned the save.
Despite scoring five in the sixth inning, the Judges were unable to come back after Washington University. They started the game with a run and then scored another six in the fourth inning. The Bears played small ball, attaining eight walks and 16 hits without having an extra-base hit. Both teams had defensive troubles; Washington having four errors and the Judges having three. Each team also had difficulty capitalizing on base-runners; Washington University left 13 on base and Brandeis left eight.
Cortese and Pat Seaward ’13 each had two hits, and Tom McCarthy ’15 drove in two. Bring Ing was saddled with the loss after pitching four innings, allowing six earned runs and five walks. The Bears first four batters in the lineup had multiple hits, along with two other players.
Washington University’s pitcher Matt Tracy pitched a complete game allowing three earned runs on nine hits. The Bears leave Florida 5-3 in the UAA and 9-6 overall. The Judges remain in fifth of six in the UAA, ahead of the University of Chicago. Brandeis is 2-6 in conference and 4-10 overall. Case Western and Washington University shared the UAA Championship title.
Brandeis has something to prove going into the next portion of the season after placing last in the UAA Championship in runs allowed, hits allowed, pitching strikeouts, fielding percentage, hits and walks. O’Connor played well in the tournament hitting 14-32 (.438 average).
He has a .351 average overall. Nick Cortese holds a .410 average overall and Kevin Barry’s stands at .423. Cortese leads the Judges with a .511 on-base percentage. O’Connor and Chris Ferro each lead with eight RBI’s. Ferro and Cortese share the team-lead in runs with nine apiece. Starting pitcher Colin Markel ’14 leads overall with a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings.
The Judges will have a week to rest and will get back on the field on Sunday at Suffolk University. Brandeis’ two games this week have been postponed due to weather.
