ATLANTA, Ga. – A day after their first-ever back-to-back wins against Emory, the Brandeis softball bats fell silent against the Eagles, as the Judges dropped two contests, 3-0 and 8-0, to finish with a season split. The Judges fall to 8-7 overall, 3-2 in the University Athletic Association, while the Eagles improve to 23-13, 6-6 UAA.
The hero of the day for the home team was pitcher Brittany File, who threw two complete games and allowed just four hits as she improved to 11-4 on the season. File leads the UAA in wins and strikeouts with 135.
In the first game, File allowed a single to the second batter of the game, Brandeis senior SS Madison Hunter (Parker, Colo./Legend) then allowed just three walks the rest of the way. She struck out nine and allowed just two runners past first base.
Emory scored all three of their runs against Brandeis rookie Scottie Todd (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest) in the third inning. With a runner on second and two outs, the Eagles strung together three-straight RBI producing hits. 3B Jessie Michael opened the floodgates with a single that plated SS Cassie Baca, who had walked and moved to second on a groundout. Michael scored all the way from first on a double by DP Janelle Turnquest, who came home on 1B Kinsey Glasgow's single.
Todd, who allowed just more than two runs for the first time all season, struck out five and walked three. She fell to 6-3 on the season but still leads the conference with a 1.24 ERA.
In the second contest, File fanned eight and walked just one. The Judges managed three hits in game two, and had a chance to open the scoring in the first when sophomore catcher Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn./Plainfield) walked and was bunted to second. Sophomore Marissa DeLaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesian) singled to put runners on the corners with one away, but File struck out the next two batters to quash the threat.
Emory took advantage, scoring three times in the bottom of the first against rookie Callie McDonald (Hanover, Mass./Hanover). A Turnquest sacrifice fly with the bases loaded providing the winning run, and Glasgow followed with a two-run double. The Eagles went on to score runs in four of their five turns to the plate, with six different batters collecting a total of 11 hits, led by leadoff hitter Taylor Forte, who went 3-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.
The Judges return to action next weekend when they play host to NYU for four games starting April 14.