WELLESLEY, Mass. (taken from a Wellesley press release) – The Brandeis University softball team split a pair of high-scoring games today in a non-conference doubleheader at Wellesley College. The Judges dropped the opener, 12-6, but sent 13 hitters to the plate in the third inning of the second game en route to a 13-7 win. The Judge now sit at 11-12, while Wellesley moves to 16-7.
Game One: Wellesley 12, Brandeis 6
Wellesley scored five unearnedd runs in the bottom of the third inning to break open a scoreless game one en route to a 12-6 victory.
First year Autumn Brown (Marshfield, Mass.) went 2-for-4, and also reached base on an error, driving in four runs and hitting her fifth home run of the season to lead the Blue. Classmate Kendall Smith (Turlock, Calif.) and junior Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) each added two hits, with Smith scoring a game-high three runs. Warner, Smith, senior Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.), and first year Kalei Oliver (Vista, Calif.) each hit doubles in game one.
Brandeis first year Scottie Todd (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest) went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI. Todd also pitched three innings, giving up four hits and five runs, all unearned. Sophomore Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn./Plainsville) added a pair of hits, including her second home run of the season in the top of the sixth, recording three RBIs to lead the way for the visitors.
With Manning and Kendra Coleman (Scottsale, Ariz.) both able to reach base following two quick outs in the bottom of the third, Ashtyn Coleman got the Blue on the board first with a two-RBI double to left field. Following a walk to senior Anna Pisac (Snohomish, Wash.), Ashtyn Coleman would come around to score on an RBI double from Smith, before the Blue capped the rally with a two-RBI single up the middle from Brown.
Brandeis countered in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a Wellesley error to get a pair of runners on base for Todd. Todd then singled to left to drive home the first Judges run, while Lehtonen followed with an RBI single of her own to make the score 5-2. Wellesley responded in kind in the home half of the inning, plating a pair of runs to run their advantage back to five. Kendra Coleman reached on an error, allowing Warner to score following a leadoff double, and when Manning scored on an illegal pitch.
Both teams continued to score runs in the late innings, but the Judges were unable to match the pace set by the Blue. Junior Amanda Shore (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) brought around sophomore Marysa Massoia (Feeding Hills, Mass./Suffield Acad.) with a sacrifice in the top of the fifth, only to see Wellesley score two in the bottom half when Brown rocked a two-run home run over the centerfield fence.
Lehtonen followed with a two-run shot for the Judges in the sixth, while Massoia added an RBI single later in the inning to make the score 9-6. Wellesley added three more runs, on two hits and an error, in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach, scoring the final run of the game on an RBI double from Oliver.
Warner allowed one runner to reach base in the top of the seventh, but got the help of some great defense from Manning, who threw out Brandeis sophomore Marissa DeLaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesian) as she was trying to advance to third on a two-out single from Todd. Warned pitched seven innings, giving up 11 hits, six runs, four earned, to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Game Two: Brandeis 13, Wellesley 7
Wellesley took advantage of four Brandeis errors en route to a victory in game one and the Judges returned the favor in game two, taking a 13-7 victory to split the doubleheader.
Todd added another double in the nightcap, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Senior Allison Hecht (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) added a game-high three hits, while first year Brianna Urena (Somerset, Mass./Somerset-Berkley Regional) was 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs. Massoia and senior Madison Hunter (Parker, Colo./Legend) also added a pair of RBIs. Starter Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) pitched 3.1 innings, giving up seven runs, six earned, but improved to 2-1 on the season. First year Callie MacDonald (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) added 3.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Judges.
NEWMAC Player of the Week Kendra Coleman was one of five Wellesley players to finish with a pair of hits in game two, also adding a game-high four RBIs and a double. Kendra Coleman's two-RBI single in the bottom of the second inning was the 100th hit in her Wellesley career. Manning had two hits, both triples, and two runs scored, and sophomore Veronica Locher (Walnut Creek, Calif.) added a pair of RBIs on a two-RBI single in the bottom of the third. Starter Madeline Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) pitched a complete game but dropped to 5-4 on the year with the result.
Manning scored on an RBI groundout from Kendra Coleman in the first, but a four-run top of the second and an eight-run top of the third gave Brandeis a 12-6 advantage following the first three innings of play.
Urena emptied the bases in the top of the second inning, before coming around to score on an RBI groundout from Massoia to make the score 4-1. The Blue tied the score in the bottom of the inning, thanks to an RBI single from Warner and Kendra Coleman's 100th career hit, a two-RBI single to center that scored Warner and first year catcher Jessica Budz (Traverse City, Mich.). However, Brandeis would take the lead for good following a third inning in which the visitors scored eight runs on six hits and three Wellesley errors.
Todd, Massoia, Hunter and first year Caroline Sippin (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) all picked-up RBIs in the frame, while three more runs scored on errors as Brandeis took a 12-6 advantage when Hunter hit an infield single to score Shore with two-outs at the end of the inning. The Blue chipped away in the third and fourth, getting a two-RBI single from Locher and an RBI double from Kendra Coleman, but left runners aboard in both the fifth and sixth innings, as Brandeis picked up the split with a 13-7 victory.
Brandeis returns to UAA play this weekend when the head to Washington University in Saint Louis on Friday at 4:00 PM Eastern/3:00 PM Central.