ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Brandeis University baseball team dropped the opening game of a four-game University Athletic Association (UAA) series today at Washington University in St. Louis by an 11-1 score in a contest shortened to eight innings by the conference 10-run rule. 

The Bears (18-14, 7-6 UAA) got all the scoring they would need in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run by first baseman John Brinkman against sophomore lefty Greg Tobin (Medway, Mass./Catholic Memorial School). WashU would end up scoring runs in five of their eight at-bats, with multiple runs in four of those frames.

The Bears pounded out 15 hits, 13 coming against Tobin, who lasted seven innings, allowed 10 runs (seven earned) and struck out a career-high 10 batters to fall to1-5 on the season. Brinkman added a pair of RBI doubles in the fourth and eighth innings, the last of which ended the game by the 10-run rule. He finished the day 4-5 with three extra-base hits (2 2B, HR), four RBI and a run scored. Leftfielder Johnny LaMantia was the other big bat on the day for the hosts, going 3-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a home run in the fifth inning.

Brandeis was limited to just six hits by WashU starter John Howard, who improved to 6-3 with an eight-inning complete game. He struck out 10 as well and did not walk a batter. The Judges had one multiple hitter in rookie LF Donnie Weisse (Swampscott, Mass./St. Mary's), who went 2-4. Classmate third baseman Mike Khoury (East Bridgewater, Mass/East Bridgewater) produced the only run of the game for the Judges with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning. Rookie catcher Luke Hall (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) had a double in the fifth inning for the team's only other extra-base hit.

The teams meet tomorrow at 3 p.m. Central (4 Eastern) for the second game of the series, followed by a 10 a.m. Central (11 Eastern) doubleheader on Saturday that will end the Judges' season.