As the season began to close, the Brandeis women’s softball team looked to take advantage of a recent three game win streak as they headed into a big away series against Carnegie Mellon University. The first of the four game series started out relatively quiet. In the first two innings, the teams had a few runners on base but nobody scored. Then in the third inning, the Brandeis offense exploded. Senior second baseman Marley Felder ’22 led off the inning with a walk. She later scored on a single by sophomore pitcher Alex Cohen ’24. Sophomore third baseman Haley Nash ’24 immediately followed with a two-run home run to right center field. Shortstop Jolie Fujita (GRAD) later scored in the inning on a single by junior first baseman Jamie Pippin ’23. Senior left fielder Amidori Anderson ’22 also came home to score in the inning on a wild pitch to give the Judges a 5-0 lead. Carnegie Mellon would score two runs in the game, but the big fifth inning from Brandeis was too much to overcome. Felder had three hits and one run batted in (RBI) in the game. Nash, Cohen and Anderson all had two hits, while Nash also had two RBIs. Brandeis had 11 hits in the game compared to Carnegie Mellon’s three. Cohen pitched all seven innings of the game while allowing just three hits and two runs, while striking out five. The final score of game one was 7-2 in favor of Brandeis.
Shortly after their first game against Carnegie Mellon, the two teams faced off again. The Judges went down early after giving up a run in the second inning. However, Anderson tied the game up with a solo home run to left center field. The two teams were tied heading into the fifth inning where Brandeis once again had an offensive explosion to propel them forward. Felder led off the inning with a double to left center field. Cohen later followed with an RBI single to score Felder. Center fielder Melissa Rothenberg (GRAD) and Anderson both also had RBI singles in the inning. Following a sacrifice fly by Felder, Fujita put the game out of reach with a three-run home run to center field. Anderson was perfect on the day with two hits in two at bats. Rothenberg and Anderson both had two RBIs in the game. Overall, the team had eight hits compared to Carnegie Mellon’s three. The pitching was once again phenomenal as sophomore pitcher Rebecca Guerci ’24 pitched all five innings while allowing just three hits and one run. She also struck out six batters and walked just two.
The next day Carnegie Mellon started out with the advantage in game three. Brandeis gave up a quick run in the bottom of the first inning. Carnegie Mellon later scored two more runs in the fourth inning, which built a deficit that Brandeis ultimately could not come back from. The Judges got on the board in the fifth inning after back to back doubles from Felder and Fujita. However, this was the only run they would score in the game. Carnegie Mellon immediately responded to the short rally from Brandeis with another two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Felder, Fujita, Cohen and Anderson all had a hit in the game to lead the team in hits. These four hits were the only hits in the game for Brandeis, as they were out four to seven. Cohen pitched four innings and allowed six hits and five runs. She only walked one and struck out two batters. After five consecutive wins, the softball team finally lost with a score of 1-5.
Looking for a bounceback game, the Judges got their chance shortly after their loss. This game was all about offense. Carnegie Mellon started the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. However, Brandeis quickly answered in the top of the third inning. After Felder led off the inning with a walk, Fujita hit a two-run home run to left field to start the scoring for Brandeis. Cohen as the catcher followed with a single. Nash and Rothenberg proceeded to walk to make the bases loaded. Freshman first baseman Fiona Doiron ’25 came in clutch with a two run double to give Brandeis a 4-3 lead. However, Carnegie Mellon did not seem phased at all as they quickly tied the game up in the bottom of the third inning. The Brandeis offense did not quit. Felder once again got on base to lead off the inning. Nash then followed with a two-run home run to give the Judges the lead again. In the top of the fifth inning, Brandeis continued to pour on the runs as both Felder and Cohen had RBI doubles in the inning. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning, Brandeis was winning 10-4. It seemed like the game may finally be out of reach for Carnegie Mellon, however they were relentless and scored five runs in the inning to cut their deficit to one. The Judges added on two big insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning with a double from junior right fielder Lily Medici ’23 and a RBI single from Fujita. Although Carnegie Mellon scored one more run in the sixth inning, they could not complete the comeback. Fujita and Felder led the team in hits with three each. Fujita had three RBIs in the game as well as two runs. Cohen, Nash and Doiron all had two RBIs in the game. In this absolute slugfest, Brandeis outhit Carnegie Mellon 13-9. Senior pitcher Sydney Goldman ’22 pitched four innings and allowed six hits and six runs while striking out three. Guerci followed by pitching three innings and allowing four runs to get the save. In an absolutely crazy offensive game, the final score was 12-10 in favor of Brandeis.
The softball team then traveled home to start their second to last home stand of the season. They first faced Wellesley College on April 13. After a clean first inning from both teams, the Judges got on the board in the second inning with some small ball. Nash led off the inning with a hit by pitch before stealing second base and advancing to third on a groundout from Anderson. Rothenberg then hit a sacrifice fly to give Brandeis their first run of the game without a single hit. Freshman Anna Kolb ’25 then walked and also stole second base. Doiron then hit an RBI single for the game’s first hit. The Judges added another run in the bottom of the third inning after Fujita tripled and was driven home on a Cohen RBI single. In the fifth inning, Wellesley got their first of the game but Cohen struck out the next batter to end the inning. Brandeis on the other hand got the offense going again in the fifth inning. Fujita hit a solo home run. Cohen and Nash then proceeded to hit back to back singles. Anderson then drove everyone home with a three-run home run. Wellesley scored one run in the top of the sixth inning but it wasn’t even close to enough. Fujita, Cohen and Anderson all led the team in hits with two. Anderson also had three RBIs in the game. Although Brandeis outhit Wellesley just nine to four, Brandeis took advantage of their base runners as they left only three runners on base throughout the game. Cohen pitched an absolute gem. She pitched all seven innings while allowing just four hits and one run, which was unearned. She also struck out three batters and walked only one. After phenomenal pitching and timely hitting, the Judges got a big 7-1 win against Wellesley.
Following their first win against Wellesley, the Judges went on to win their second game against them as well, this time not allowing a single scored run. Chandra Penton ’23 pitched six of the seven innings in the second game, during which she only walked one player, struck out three and allowed only three hits. This marks Penton’s fourth win of the season; of the 77 pitches, 59 were strikes. Goldman pitched the final inning of the game, pitching 19, 11 of which were strikes. She only allowed one hit and only walked one player. The Judges had nine hits in the game, while scoring four runs. They opened the score in the second inning, and then solidified their lead in the third, when they scored two more runs. Their final run of the day was earned in the fifth inning, which would be the last run of the game for either team. The large scorer in the game was Nash, who scored two runs. Cohen and Anderson searned one run each. Pippin and Anderson had two hits, while Fujita, Rothenberg and Felder had one each.
Following their successful campaign against Wellesley, the Judges continued their University Athletic Association (UAA) campaign with four games against Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), on Friday April 15, Saturday April 16 and Sunday April 17. On Friday, The Judges dropped to CWRU, 2-1; the score was opened only in the fourth inning, when CWRU earned a run. Neither team would score again until the seventh inning, in which both teams earned a run. Cohen pitched the game, where she threw 66 strikes out of 88 pitches. She did not walk a single player, and only allowed four hits during the entire game. On the offensive side, the Judges were able to get five hits. Anna Kolb ’25 was the only Judge who was able to score a run in the game, which came in the seventh inning. Fujita and Rothenberg were able to reach second base with their hits, however were struck out before they were able to advance further. Boyer and Felder both got hits, but were unable to get to a base. Despite scoring two runs, CWRU was only able to get four hits.
The Judge’s second and third games against CWRU took place on Saturday, April 16. In the first game of the day, the Judges dropped to CWRU, 3-2. CWRU opened the score in the second inning, during which they earned two runs; they then proceeded to score their final run of the game in the third inning. The Judges scored both of their runs in the sixth inning. Guerci pitched all seven innings of the game, where she only walked one and struck out one player, allowing four hits which resulted in three earned runs. She pitched 110 balls, 68 of which were strikes. On the offensive side, the Judges had six hits, one each from Fujita, Felder, Cohen, Nash, Kolb and Pippin. Fujita was the only Judge to get a double in the game. The two earned runs of the game came from Cohen and Pippin.
The Brandeis came back from their losses with a win in their third game against CWRU, with a score of 4-2. CWRU were the ones to once again open the score in the second inning, where they earned a run; the Judges however came back with two earned runs in the fourth inning. The game got to its intense point in the sixth inning, where CWRU earned another run, tying the game. The Judges clapped back earning an additional two runs in the inning, closing out the scoring. Penton came back to pitch six innings of the game, earning her fifth win of the season; she threw 81 balls, 55 of which were strikes. She walked one player, struck out three, and only allowed four hits. Cohen came in in the seventh inning, pitching 13 strikes out of 17 balls, striking out one player. Rothenberg scored two runs in the game, while Anderson and Kolb earned one run each. Fujita, Cohen and Fiona Doiron ’23 got one hit each, while Boyer got two.
In their final game against CWRU, played on April 17, the Judges honored their graduating seniors. Fujita, Alyssa Renskers ’22, Felder, Fultz, Anderson, Goldman and Rothenberg leave behind a legacy of 69 wins during their time at Brandeis. Unfortunately, senior day did not end in a win for the Judges as they fell to CWRU 7-0. Goldman pitched the first 3.1 innings game for the Judges, throwing 74 balls of which 40 were strikes. She struck out four, allowed four hits, and walked two. Cohen came in to pitch the next three innings, during which she also pitched 40 strike balls, out of 59. She allowed four hits, and struck out five. Madeline Gorey ’25 pitched the remainder of the last inning. Offensively, Cohen was the only Brandeis player who was able to get a hit. This puts the Judges at 20-14 on the season, and 6-10 in the UAA.
You can read about the Judge’s campaign against NYU here.
