BRENNER GOES DISTANCE AGAIN, BUT JUDGES GET BLANKED BY ROCHESTER, 3-0
SANFORD, Fla. – Brandeis University senior Kyle Brenner (Brookfield, Mass./St. Peter Marian) pitched his second complete game in a row, but his offense could not support him as the Judges lost to the University of Rochester, 3-0, at the University Athletic Association (UAA) tournament at Sanford Memorial Stadium in Florida.
Brenner threw 123 pitches, 75 for strikes. He allowed 11 hits, striking out four and walking three. Brenner's 16th career complete game tied him for fourth-most in school history, three behind career-leaders Ross Nadeau '87 and Steve Wahlbrink '00, who went the distance 19 times. Despite all that, Brenner fell to 0-3 this season after having gone at least eight innings in each of his three starts.
Brenner worked around base-runners in each of the first three innings before Rochester score in the top of the fourth. Back-to-back singles from Lance Hamilton and Brian Munoz started the frame, but a sacrifice bunt from Sam Slutsky and a sac fly to center by Owen Gabbey broke open the scoring. Brenner got a comebacker to the mound to end the inning. The Yellowjackets got two more runs in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Nolan Schultz and a Brendan Garry single.
Brandeis had a chance to score in the bottom of the seventh, when catcher Connor Doyle (Avon, Conn./Avon Old Farms) doubled to start the frame. Sophomore LF Ryan Tettemer (Westfield, Mass./Suffield Acad.) blooped a hit to center and was able to reach second, but Doyle held up waiting to see if the ball was caught. UR starting pitcher Dan Warren wormed his way out of trouble with a foul out to third, a hard-hit comebacker that he snagged on the line and a pop to second.
Tettemer doubled again in the ninth with two away, but the Judges could not bring him home. He finished the day 3-for-4 with three doubles, while junior CF Liam O'Connor (Avon, Conn./Avon) was 2-for-4.
For Rochester, Warren outdueled Brenner, allowing eight hits and no runs in nine innings. He fanned eight and walked just one. DH Lance Hamilton had three hits, while Schultz and Gary had two hits each to go with their RBI.
Brandeis will try for their first UAA win of the season tomorrow at 11 a.m. against NYU.