The Brandeis University baseball team took both games in a Saturday doubleheader against Lasell University by scores of 22-1 and 6-2. The Judges improved to 12-3 on the season, while the Lasers fell to 8-18.
In the first game, the Judges took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third when they exploded for 13 runs. In an inning where the Judges hit around twice and switched up almost their entire lineup, senior RF Mike Khoury (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) started the scoring off with a solo home run, his fourth of the season. This added to a string of six straight hits rattled off to start the inning. Within the inning, the Judges notched three extra-base hits by Khoury, senior catcher Luke Hall (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown HS), and senior 1B Isaac Fossas (Dudley, Mass./Milton Academy) and benefited from five walks, three of which pushed runners home. This was the second time this season that the Judges batted around twice in an inning, having scored 15 in a frame against Framingham State a week earlier.
The fourth held more of the same for the Judges. The inning started with senior RF Alex Parrot (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South HS) getting walked and a two-run home run by Hall, his third of the season. Later in the inning, the Brandeis dugout erupted with cheers when senior DH Darren Bates (Jamestown, R.I./ Columbus Academy) crushed his first home run of the season, a three-run dinger that put the Judges up 19-1. The Judges added one run in the fifth on a single from junior 1B Aneesh Avancha (Plantsville, Conn./Chase Collegiate School) and two runs in the sixth on a double to left-center field by graduate student Tommy Sand (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) and a Lasell error.
Another graduate student, LHP Greg Tobin (Medway, Mass./Catholic Memorial), earned his third win of the season (3-0) and 12th of his Brandeis career in a six-inning five-strikeout performance. Tobin gave up his only earned run in the fourth inning on an infield single by Lasell's Tyrek Robinson. Sophomore RHP Ethan Hamburg (Encino, Calif./de Toledo) and senior RHP Rik Jhamb (Shrewsbury, Mass./Advanced Math & Science Academy) combined to finish the job in the seventh, fanning two of the three Lasell batters.
In the second contest, Lasell started the scoring with an RBI single by Ross Audet. The Judges followed this up by scoring six unanswered runs. The Judges tied it up in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly from senior CF Dan Frey (Ipswich, Mass./St. John's Prep). The second inning brought a two-run home run off the bat of sophomore 3B Brian King (Palos Verde, Calif./Palos Verde), his first of the year, which was followed up in the third by a two-run home run by Fossas, his third of the year and the 10th of his career.. Fossas also scored in the fifth inning on a Lasell error.
Sophomore RHP Asher Kaplan (Jamaica Plain, Mass./Boston Latin) pitched 6 ⅔ innings, striking out seven Lasers. His only earned run was off the Audet single. Sophomore RHP Christian Tejada (Providence, R.I./Bishop Hendrickson) came in for the final out, ending it with a strikeout.
Fossas led the Judges today with six RBI across the two games. Graduate student Victor Oppenheimer (West Hills, Calif./Chaminade) tallied four hits in his five at-bats, followed by Fossas and Khoury who both had three.
The Judges will face Anna Maria College at home this Wednesday at 3 p.m. to end the month.
-- by Benton Ferebee '22
