ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Brandeis baseball team got its first two extra-base hits of the season, home runs by senior Sean O'Hare (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) and junior Chris Ferro (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), but Augustana University's bats exploded for runs in every inning as the Vikings took a 16-2 decision at the Russ Matt Invitational in Florida. Augustana improves to 2-1 on the season, while Brandeis falls to 2-2.
Augustana wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring five in the first against rookie starter Elio Fernandez (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep). The Vikings took advantage of four hits, a walk and two hit batsmen in the frame. The Judges looked like they would get momentum in the bottom of the first, when O'Hare led off the inning with a solo home run, the sixth of his career. The Judges put two more runners on in the inning thanks to an error and a walk, but line-drive double play helped Viking starter Brian Konecke get out of any further trouble.
After Augustana added one more run in the second against Fernandez, Brandeis again looked to get something started when rookie DH Dan Gad (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) and classmate LF Zach Bardwell (No. Andover, Mass./Central Catholic) led off with back-to-back singles. Konecke was able to pick Gad off of second, however, and get two fly balls to left field to keep the Judges at bay. Konecke held Brandeis to just two more hits the rest of the way, a single by rookie 3B Tom McCarthy (Yonkers, N.Y./Fieldston School) and Ferro's sixth-inning home run. The round-tripper was the seventh of his career.
Augustana scored single runs in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings, while striking for four in the third and three in the sixth. Brandeis used six different pitchers in the game, with Fernandez suffering the loss, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits in 2.1 innings of work.
The Judges look to get back in the win column against Farmingdale (N.Y.) State University on Friday morning.