Shore and DeLaurentis power Judges past Adrian in two-game split

Amanda Shore '18 (photo by Sportspix)
Amanda Shore '18 (photo by Sportspix)

CLERMONT, Florida - The Brandeis University softball team split for the third day in a row to wrap up their spring trip. The Judges took the first game with a 5-3 victory over Adrian College but fell short to Hanover College in the second game by a score of 6-5.

The Judges were paced by junior outfielder Amanda Shore (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty), sophomore outfielder Marissa Delaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesesan), and sophomore second baseman Marysa Massoia (Feeding Hills, Mass./Suffield Academy), who each notched two hits in the contest against Adrian. Junior Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford,Conn./Westhill) pitched her way to her first victory of the year, going six innings strong while only allowing two earned runs.

Brandeis got off to a hot start when sophomore Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn./Plainfield) led off with a hit by pitch. Amanda Shore executed a sacrifice bunt to move the runner. Freshman PJ Ross (Kingston, N.H./Sanborn Regional) then walked to bring up Marissa DeLaurentis who drove in Lehtonen from second with an RBI double. The Judges weren't finished though when senior Allison Hecht (Melville, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) was hit by pitch and senior Madison Hunter (Parker, Colo./Legend) drove in Ross with an RBI single.

The Judges surrendered a run in the bottom of the first on three hits, but answered back with a run of their own in the next frame with an Amanda Shore double to drive in Lehtonen who reached on a fielder's choice after Massoia had singled to get the offense going. Adrian then responded with a run in the bottom of the second on one hit and an error.

After a quiet third inning, Shore answered the call again in the fourth by driving in Massoia, who reached on a single, on another RBI double. Apfel blanked the Bulldogs in the bottom of the fourth but surrendered a run in the bottom of the fifth.

With the score 4-3 heading into the sixth, the Judges added an insurance run, as freshman Scottie Todd (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest) led off with a pinch hit single, Massoia bunted her over to second and Lehtonen grounded out to short to advance the runner. Shore plated the run, reaching on an error by the second baseman to make it 5-3.

After a lead off single by Adrian in the bottom of the seventh, freshman Callie McDonald (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) relieved Apfel and retired the side for the save.

Against Hanover, the Judges clawed back but could not overcome a four-run second inning by the opposition. Senior pitcher Melissa Soleimani (Somerset, Mass./Somerset Bekrley Regional) took the loss going just 1.2 innings while surrendering four earned runs. Freshman pitcher Scottie Todd tossed 5.1 innings of no-earned run ball while logging three strikeouts. Once again, Brandeis was paced by the bats of Amanda Shore and Marissa DeLaurentis who both notched a pair of hits in the contest. Madison Hunter also collected a pair of hits. 

Despite the loss, the Judges outhit their opponents nine to eight, but leaving nine runners on base. The Judges also committed three errors in the contest.

The softball team saw many glimmers of greatness in their 3-3 trip to Florida. Sophomore Marissa DeLaurentis led all hitters with nine hits (four doubles) and five RBI, finishing the week with a .450 BA, .500 OBP, and .650 SLG. Junior Amanda Shore collected six hits on the week and notching a pair of doubles. Freshman Scottie Todd pitched her way to a 2-0 record, allowing just two earned runs in 21 innings of work. She logged 14 strikeouts and holds a 0.67 ERA. Junior Sadie-Rose Apfel boasts a 1.68 ERA while allowing just two earned runs in 8.1 innings of work. 

The Judges open up New England play on March 8th as they host Framingham State for a double header with first pitch coming at 3pm.