Since our last publication, the baseball team has played eight games. This recap will cover all eight, highlighting both the highs and lows of the Judges’ season so far. Though the Judges only won three of the eight games, they still have a couple weeks left of regular-season games before they start facing their fellow University Athletic Association (UAA) competitors in some exciting showings later this spring.
To start, the Judges traveled down to Buzzards Bay to face the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) Buccaneers in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 9. In their first game, the Judges established a two-run lead after the completion of the first inning, only letting up one run to the Buccaneers in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back doubles by Dylan Walsh ’27 and Brian King (GRAD) paired with a sacrifice fly by Justin Keeler ’25 were key plays that provided the Judges this early lead. Both teams scored a run in the second, making the score 4-2 going into the third inning. Despite their early success, the Judges had to stay on their toes as the Buccaneers scored two runs in the bottom of the third which tied up the game. Following this intense comeback, the Judges scored another run in the fifth off of King’s first home run of the season. Two more insurance runs came in the seventh which really sealed the deal for the Judges. A pair of new grad-transfers, Eddie Zanor (GRAD) and Jake Freed (GRAD), were the primary cultivators of these final two runs of the game. The final score of this game was 7-4, Judges.
In their second game of the day against the Buccaneers, the Judges had a bit of a slower start. MMA opened the game with two runs to set the tone. The Judges came back in the top of the second to score one run in their endeavor to win both games. This run was off of Tobei Nakajima ’27 who earned his first collegiate RBI off of his hit. Following this inning, the game was back-and-forth up until the end. The Judges tied up the game 5-5 in the top of the fifth and then successfully captured the lead in the top of the ninth. Able to hold off the MMA Buccaneers for the second time that day, the Judges came away having improved their season record with two more wins. The final score of this game was 7-6, Judges.
That following Tuesday, the Judges hosted the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) Lions in their home-opener for the 2024 season. The Judges established a lead during the bottom of the first inning and ultimately never looked back, having scored in every inning but one. They also did not concede any runs to the Lions after the fourth inning, despite the Lions only having two runs fewer than the Judges in the game. Some key plays include a near-cycle by Zanor , Freed hitting his first homer as a Judge and seven of the nine Brandeis starters having hits, five with two. This powerful win by the Judges resulted in a final score of 11-6, Judges.
Two days later, the Judges hosted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Engineers in the teams’ first meeting since 2014. This game got off to a slow start as everyone’s bats were quiet through the third inning. Despite this strong start for the Judges, the Engineers broke through with three runs in the fourth inning and never looked back. The Judges’ only run of the game was a solo home-run by Freed, ruining the MIT pitcher’s shutout bid against the Judges. This humbling outing for the Judges concluded with the Engineers winning 9-1.
That weekend, the Judges traveled up to Waterville, Maine to face the Colby College Mules in a double header.
In their first game of the day, the Judges were unsuccessful as they lost 9-0 without earning one hit.
Looking to have a more successful outing in the second game of the day, the Judges were quick to get on the board as they scored three runs in the top of the third inning. These three runs were thanks to hits from Henry Aronwald ’27, Mike DiCenso ’27 and Jordan Greenaway ’26. Despite this successful inning for the Judges, they were not able to maintain their momentum. The final score of this game ended up being a 13-3 win for the Colby Mules.
The next day, the Judges hosted the team from Anna Maria College (AMC) for some St. Patrick’s Day play. Coming off of a tough previous day, the Judges did not have their best game during this outing. The Brandeis bats were quiet until the third when they scored the first run of the game. After this, AMC started to get more aggressive offensively and had three multiple-run innings to seal the deal and capture the win. Despite Freed’s successful day, having gone 2-4 with a double and two runs scored, the Judges lost to AMC in a tough 11-4 decision.
In the Judges’ final game of this recap, they hosted the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards in a tight game. The Judges and Leopards went back and forth for several innings before the game got intense. By the conclusion of the eighth inning, the game was 4-2, the Judges trailing by two. Knowing that they had to do something to stay in the game, the Judges earned two crucial runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the game into extra innings. These two runs were earned by pinch hitter Nakajima singling, Matt Chafin ’27 walking and a major bunt by Walsh, which allowed both of the runners to score. Despite this excitement, the tenth inning was scoreless, and the Judges unfortunately gave up a run to the Leopards in the top of the eleventh which they were unable to earn back. The final score of the game ended up being 5-4, the Leopards.
Looking ahead, the Judges have a bit of down-time before their next game, which will be held on the Stein Diamond at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27. Come out to support your Judges in a game against our neighboring Lasell University baseball team.
