ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University softball team split a pair of games at the 2015 University Athletic Association Tournament today. The Judges dropped their opener to #9 Rochester, 9-3, but came back to defeat NYU by the same score in the second contest of the day. Brandeis moves up to 4-1 on the season, 1-1 in the UAA.
The Judges earned their win thanks to a pair of big innings. They got to NYU starter Sage Scheiwiller for four runs in the third inning. After the Violets cut the lead to 3-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth, Brandeis blew the game open with five runs in the top of the seventh before NYU got one back in the bottom for the final score.
Sophomore shortstop Liana Moss (Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura) led the way for the Judges in the nightcap, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, two coming on a single in the seventh inning. Senior catcher Cori Coleman (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale South) went 2-for-4 also, driving in two runs in the third with a single that proved to be the game-winning runs. Junior RF Danielle Novotny (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley) had a two-run double in the seventh.
In the circle, rookie Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford, Conn. / Westhill) earned the win in her first collegiate start, giving up three hits and one earned runs in four innings of work. She struck out four and walked just one, though she did hit two batters in NYU's run-scoring fourth inning. Sophomore Melissa Soleimani (Somerset, Mass. / Somerset Berkley Regional) pitched the final three innings and earned a save. She gave up two runs on six hits with a strikeout and no walks.
In the opener against ninth-ranked Rochester, the Judges were the victim of the long ball. Brandeis jumped on front in the top of the first when sophomore Leah Shapiro (Beverly Hills, Calif. / Beverly Hills) walked and was bunted to second. A single by sophomore LF Madison Hunter (Parker, Colo./Legend) put runners on the corners, and Shapiro came home on a double steal when a throw went awry. The Yellowjackets answered in the bottom of the frame, however, scoring five time on just three hits, thanks to two hit batters and a grand slam by Alyssa Murillo.
The Judges scored twice in the fifth when senior CF Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) hit a ball that was booted at second base, allowing two runs to score, but UR got them right back on a two-run homer by Mackenzie Cronin. Cronin singled to drive in a run in the sixth and scored later that inning to close out the scoring.
For the game, Brandeis got two hits each from Hunter and senior Madison Sullivan (Dover, N.H./Dover) each had two hits, with Hunter's double the team's only extra base hit. Sophomore Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River) took the loss with six innings of work, allowing 11 hits and nine earned runs. She struck out six and walked two. Gabriela Alatorre earned the win for UR allowing five hits and two unearned runs in six innings.
Brandeis is back in action tomorrow against Case Western Reserve and Emory.