SANFORD, Fla. -- The Brandeis baseball team was held to five hits over nine innings as the Judges fell to Case Western Reserve University, 11-0, in a University Athletic Association contest today at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium. Brandeis falls to 4-8 overall, 2-4 in the UAA with their third-straight loss. The Spartans improve to 6-3, 4-2 UAA, in avenging one of their two conference losses.
Case did not need a hit to get all the scoring they would need in the first inning. Shortshop Matt Keen was hit by an Elio Fernandez (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) pitch with one out. Keen moved to third on an errant pick-off attempt and scored on a straight steal of home. The Spartans would add five more runs in the second, when they batted around on four singles, a double, a Brandeis error that made two of the runs unearned, and a sacrifice fly. They added another unearned run in the fourth against Fernandez and capped the scoring in the ninth with four runs against rookie Sam Miller (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury).
Offensively, five different Brandeis players had hits - including the team-high 16th for rookie CF Liam O'Connor (Avon, Conn./Avon) - and four other batters reached on walks or errors, but the Judges had bad luck in hitting into four double plays. Fernandez suffered the loss with a career-best six innings in his second collegiate start. He gave up nine hits and seven runs (three earned), with a career-high three strikeouts.
Brandeis returns to UAA play tomorrow with a 2:00 game against Emory.