WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University baseball team was held to just three hits today by 18th-ranked Washington (Mo.) University as the visiting Bears blew things open late to take a 15-0 victory in the opener of a four-game University Athletic Association series on Stein Diamond. With the loss, the Judges fall to 9-10, 0-5 UAA, while the Bears improve to 17-3-1, 3-0 UAA.
WashU got all the scoring they would need in the top of the first. Shortstop Caleb Durbin led off with a double, one of seven on the day for the Bears . Two batters later, he came home on a single by first baseman John Brinkman.
The next three innings were a pitcher's duel between Brandeis junior lefty Greg Tobin (Medway, Mass./Central Catholic School) and Washington senior John Howard. Tobin got some fine defense at third base from sophomore Isaac Fossas (Dudley, Mass./Milton Academy), who started a 5-4-3 double play in the second and made a terrific leaping catch on a line drive in the third with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Howard retired the first 12 Brandeis batters he faced.
The visitors added to their lead in the fifth, when Durbin led off with a walk and scored after catcher Thomas Gardner's double was booted in the outfield. The Bears would add two more unearned runs in the frame as Brandeis committed three miscues.
Brandeis got their first hit off Howard in the bottom of the fifth when junior center fielder Dan Frey (Ipswich, Mass./St. John's Prep) singled up the middle, but Frey got no further than second base. The Bears added three more runs against Tobin in the sixth, a single run in the eighth, then sent 11 men to the plate in the top of the ninth to score seven late runs.
For the game, 10 different WashU players recorded hits, including five multiple hitters, with Gardner (3-5, RBI, 2 R, 2B) and Brinkman (3-5, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2B) leading the way. Brandeis's hits came from Frey, Fossas and rookie pinch hitter Liam Kennedy (Norwell, Mass./Milton Academy).
On the hill for Brandeis, Tobin went six innings, allowing nine hits and seven runs (five earned). He struck out five and walked one, but hit three batters as well. Tobin falls to 2-2 on the season. WashU's Howard improved to 6-0 on the campaign with eight innings of two-hit ball. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Howard lowered his ERA to 1.24 on the season.
Brandeis and Washington University will meet three more times this weekend, starting with a doubleheader tomorrow at 12 noon.