The softball team started this past weekend with two doubleheaders against rival Emory University in a University Athletic Association (UAA) matchup.
The Judges dropped Friday’s games, 0-2, 1-10, in their opening doubleheader against Emory. The first game of the day was a pitcher’s duel, with the Emory pitcher giving a perfect performance through the first four innings. The Judges’ starter Scottie Todd ’20 broke up the Emory pitcher’s no-hitter with a line drive single. Todd also gave an impressive performance on the mound, giving up two runs on five hits, two walks and earning two strikeouts. The Judges couldn’t get on the board, losing 0-2. The second game of the day saw the Judges lose 1-10, with Emory starting off scoring in the first inning with a home run. Brandeis’s Callie MacDonald ’20 suffered the loss for the Judges in the UAA match-up.
The Judges fared better on the second day of play against Emory, winning the first game 6-1 before dropping the second game 1-10. In the first game of the day, both teams remained scoreless through the first four innings. Brandeis struck first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, with rookie Bridget Cifuni ’21 singling to start the scoring. The Judges added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure a comfortable 6-0 lead before the Eagles scored their only run of the game in the top of the seventh inning on a Brandeis error. The Eagles couldn’t produce any more runs, and Brandeis secured their only win of the weekend. Todd earned the win for the Judges, with one unearned run over seven innings pitched, allowing five hits and one walk. Todd was a force at the plate as well, going 2-for-4 with two RBI singles.
The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader did not go as well for the Judges, with the Judges dropping the game 1-10, and finishing in the fifth inning by way of the mercy rule.
On Tuesday, the Judges continued their stretch of home games, facing Eastern Nazarene College in another doubleheader. The Judges dropped both games, falling 1-4 in the first game and 3-4 in the second game.
In game one against Eastern Nazarene College, both teams seemed evenly matched, with each one earning six hits. The Judges couldn’t convert their hits into runs, however, and stranded 11 runners on base over the course of seven innings. The Judges struggled a little on the mound as well. Senior Sadie-Rose Apfel ’18 started for Brandeis, giving up a two-run home run in the first inning. Apfel went four innings for the Judges, giving up four runs on five hits and one walk, and earned three strikeouts. Todd came into the game in relief, pitching three scoreless innings and giving up one hit while earning three strikeouts. Catcher Keri Lehtonen ’19 was an offensive powerhouse, earning a team high of three hits in the 1-4 loss against Eastern Nazarene College.
In the second game of the day the Judges tried to fight back with a close 3-4 loss to Eastern Nazarene. Eastern Nazarene struck early with an unearned run in the first inning after an error brought the third base runner home. They extended their lead over the Judges in the fourth inning, adding three runs. The Judges struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning when Todd and third baseman Brianna Urena ’20 each hit RBI doubles. Left fielder Marissa DeLaurentis ’19 drove in the Judges’ third run of the game in the fifth inning with runners on second and third base. MacDonald started the game for the Judges, taking the loss after giving up five hits and four runs, two of which were earned. Todd came in in relief yet again for the Judges, pitching four scoreless innings and allowing three hits while walking one and striking out three.
The Judges continued their packed schedule with another doubleheader at home against Wellesley College. The Judges crushed their opponent in the first game with a 9-2 victory over Wellesley. Wellesley struck first, scoring one run in the first inning on an error with the bases loaded. The Judges answered in the bottom of the first inning with three runs. Lehtonen started the Judges off with a double to left field. Marysa Massoia ’19 pushed Lehtonen over with a sacrifice before DeLaurentis found a gap for an RBI double to bring Lehtonen home. Amanda Shore ’18 singled up the middle to bring DeLaurentis home before stealing second. Todd singled in the same spot to bring home Shore for the third run of the inning. The Judges continued the trend, scoring again in the third, fifth and sixth innings to rack up nine runs total. Shore was a standout at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a homerun, a walk, two RBIs and a total of three runs scored. On the mound, Todd pitched a complete game for the Judges, allowing five hits, two earned runs and one walk, while striking out three batters.
The Judges kept the momentum going into the second game of the day against Wellesley, earning a tight 4-3 victory. Again, Wellesley struck first, earning a run in the top of the first inning. DeLaurentis answered with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead. Shore continued her own trend of the day, hitting another home run over the left field fence in the third inning to extend the Judges’ lead to 3-1. Wellesley tried to answer with back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game 3-3. The Judges answered in the bottom of the same inning when Taylor Simala ’20 just missed a homerun, bouncing the ball off the right field fence. With Simala on second base, Urena doubled down the left field line to earn the RBI and put the Judges back on top, 4-3. Simala was the only Judge of the game to earn more than one hit, going 2-for-3 in the victory.
Apfel started on the pitcher’s mound for Brandeis, going five innings with six hits, three runs, four strikeouts and no walks. MacDonald finished the last two innings for Brandeis and allowed one hit and one walk, snatching the win to improve her personal season record to 3-8 this year.
The Judges continue their packed April schedule with a road trip to New York City to take on New York University (NYU) in a UAA conference matchup. Brandeis will face off against the NYU Violets in a doubleheader Friday starting at 4 p.m., before playing a second doubleheader Saturday against the Violets at 1 p.m.
