WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University baseball team matched its season high with 14 runs, and were two shy of a season-best with 14 hits, as the Judges defeated visiting Bowdoin College, 14-7, on Senior Day at Stein Diamond. With the win, Brandeis moves to 8-29 on the season, going 2-1 in a recent stretch against alumni coaches who played under Pete Varney. The Polar Bears, helmed Mike Connolly '94, fall to 18-14.
Brandeis, which scored 11 of its 14 runs in the fifth and sixth innings, when they batted around twice, was led by its seniors at the top of the lineup. 3B Sean O'Hare (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) went 2-for-3 with two walks, two doubles and three runs scored out of the leadoff hole. In his last five games since returning to the lineup, O'Hare is 8-for-20 (.400) with seven runs scored, three doubles and three home runs for a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Senior catcher Kenny Destremps (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI out of the second spot in the order, while grad student and DH Pat Nicholson (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) had a game-high four hits, going 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored out of the three hole. Other seniors in the Brandeis starting lineup were RF Zach Malis (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK), who went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a runs scored, and LF Joe Galli (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield Memorial), who reached base twice by getting hit by a pitch, scoring once and driving in one run.
The Judges also got a boost from junior CF Chris Ferro (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), who went 2-for-3 with three RBI thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies in just his third game since March 16.
Bowdoin outhit the Judges, 15-14, and the Polar Bears owned a 6-3 lead after they scored three runs in the top of the fifth when the first five batters reached base. Seven of Bowdoin's nine starters had multiple hits, paced by 3-for-5 performances from junior 1B Luke Regan (West Roxbury, Mass./St. Sebastian's) and rookie 2B Aaron Rosen (Morganville, N.J./Marlboro). Regan's double was the visitors' only extra-base hit. Junior LF Beau Breton (Bedford, N.H./Manchester West) and sophomore CF Kyle LeBlanc (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) each had two RBI.
In addition to their success at the plate, the Brandeis class of 2012 was extremely effective out of the bullpen. Alex Tynan (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) led the way, allowing just five hits and one earned run in 3.1 innings of work, striking out three. He was followed by Andrew Weissenberg (Demarest, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional), who retired the only batter he faced on one pitch, and Nicholson, who closed out the game by getting a liner to short. Rookie Kyle Brenner (Brookfield, Mass./St. Peter-Marian) earned the win, improving to 3-7 after giving up 10 hits and six runs (five earned) over the first five innings.
Bowdoin sophomore starter Jesse Abels (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) lasted four innings and gave up six runs on five hits, but he walked one batter, hit three others and issued a wild pitch. Junior Gabe Faithful (New York, N.Y./Beacon School) suffered the loss after allowing two inherited runners to score in the fifth, tying the game, and then giving up three of his own before closing out the frame.
Brandeis will close out its season this Sunday at noon with a doubleheader at Trinity College, while the Polar Bears open a key three-game NESCAC East set with Tufts at home Friday at 3 p.m.