After starting the season with a nearly month-long break, the Brandeis softball team is off and running with quite a few games at the end of March. Between March 25 and 30, the Judges played six games. Four of those games were against Washington University and two were against Lesley University.
Game one against WashU, WashU used one big inning to propel them to victory. The Judges scored two runs on a double by first baseman Jamie Pippin ’23. However, WashU proceeded to score four runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning to give them a lead they would not give back. Brandeis ended up losing game one 3-5. Shortstop Jolie Fujita (GRAD) led the team in hits with two, as well as in runs with two.
The next day saw the Judges get blanked against WashU. Alex Cohen ’24 got the only hit in the game. Sydney Goldman ’22, Cohen and Rebecca Guerci ’24 combined to pitch the five innings in the game. The final score was 9-0 in favor of WashU.
On that same day, Brandeis faced WashU for the third time. This time, WashU just kept putting on runs in every inning. The Judges scored a run in the top of the first inning off a single from left fielder Amidori Anderson ’22 but this was not enough as the WashU offense could not be stopped. Madeline Gorey ’25 pitched five innings while striking out two and only walking one. Brandeis lost 2-8.
In their fourth and final game against WashU for the season, the Judges once again took a lead in the top of the fourth inning. Anderson hit a home run to center field to give them that lead. However, WashU once again answered back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Brandeis began a comeback in the very next inning as second baseman Marley Felder ’22 drove in Pippin with a single. Center fielder Melissa Rothenberg (GRAD) then followed that up with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring right fielder Lily Medici ’23. However, the comeback fell just short and Brandeis lost their final game against WashU 3-5. Goldman and Gorey combined to pitch six innings while allowing eight hits and five walks.
The Judges then returned home to play two games against Lesley. Their first game started off with Lesley playing small ball to score the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. Brandeis proceeded to shake off their previous weekend and countered with a huge three run home run by third baseman Haley Nash ’24. The offense did not stop there as they scored two more runs in the second inning on singles from Felder and Rothenberg. Nash then continued her excellent game with a single driving home Anderson in the third inning. Brandeis put the game away when Rothenberg doubled home a run and Cohen hit a two run home run in the fourth inning. The final score was 9-1 as Brandeis snapped the losing streak with a big win. Cohen had an all around strong game. She pitched all five innings while allowing just a single run and striking out five. Additionally, Cohen had two hits and two runs batted in (RBI). Nash also had a phenomenal game, as she had three hits and four RBIs in the game.
On that same day, the Judges faced Lesley for the second time. Brandeis once again got off to a fast start, scoring three runs in the second inning. Felder singled in a run and Rothenberg doubled before scoring on a passed ball. In the very next inning, Anderson stepped up to the plate and absolutely smoked the ball to give Brandeis a 4-0 lead. They put the nail in the coffin in the fourth inning as Rothenberg led off the inning with a double and was immediately followed by Cohen’s double. Nash and Fujita then proceeded to hit RBI singles to give the Judges a 7-0 lead. In terms of pitching, Chandra Penton ’23 had an incredibly gutsy performance. She allowed multiple base runners in the game, but just two runs. In the second inning, Penton struck out Lesley’s right fielder to leave two runners on base. The big inning however was when she escaped the jam in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and one run already scored by Lesley in the inning, Penton proceeded to strike out two consecutive batters looking to get out of the jam. She finished with a complete game and seven strikeouts. The final score was 7-2.
The Brandeis softball team will continue their home stand with four games against Emory University in the upcoming weekend. One game is on Friday April 1, followed by two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. They will also play two more home games on April 5, against Framingham State University before playing more away games.
