AUBURN, Mass. -- The Brandeis University softball team staged a late rally to tie the game, but Amherst College answered in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Judges, 3-2, at the Pappas Athletic Complex in Auburn, Mass. Brandeis falls to 8-10 with the loss, while the Lord Jeffs improve to 9-6.
The teams were scoreless for the first half of the game until Amherst broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Amherst left fielder Donna Leet singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a ground out and stole third. The Lord Jeffs followed with back-to-back extra-base hits, as SS Nicolette Miranda doubled to open the scoring, then came home on 1B Alyssa Sherwill's triple.
Brandeis sophomore starter Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River) escaped further damage, as Judge junior Danielle Novotny (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley) fired home on grounder to second to eliminate Sherwill, and the Jeffs followed with a fly out to end the inning.
Brandeis loaded the bases with two out in the fifth on two infield singles and a walk, but AC starter Jackie Buechler got out of it with a fly ball to center. The Judges finally broke through in the top of the seventh against reliever Gina Pagan.
With one away, Novotny singled through the left side. Senior RF Amanda Genovese (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) followed by reaching on an error that put runners on the corners. Genovese stole second, her 118th career theft, to get into scoring position. Pagan got a strikeout for the second out, but senior CF Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) followed with a clutch two-run double to right-center field. Pagan got another K to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, former Brandeis head coach Jessica Johnson pulled the right strings for Amherst, as a succession of pinch hitters and runners for Amherst put runners on first and second with no one out. The Lord Jeffs executed a double steal to get into scoring position. Wroblweski coaxed the first out on a grounder to third without a run scoring, but AC leadoff hitter Kesley Ayers singled to right to end the game in walk-off fashion.
Genovese and Novotny each had two hits for the Judges, with Ayers and Leet doing the same for Amherst. Pagan earned the win with one inning of relief, while Wroblewski suffered the loss to fall to 4-8 on the season after tossing 6.1 innings of eight-hit ball. She struck out five and walked one.
Brandeis returns to action on Wednesday, April 8, at Babson College.