CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Brandeis University softball team scored five times against host Case Western Reserve, only the third time the eighth-ranked Spartans have allowed that many in a game, but the home team pounded out a season-high 16 hits en route to a 12-5 victory in the opener of a four-game University Athletic Association series.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 11-6, 6-3 UAA.
• CWRU: 20-2, 6-2 UAA, ranked #8 in Division III by the NFCA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges took advantage of wildness from Spartan starter Lexi Miskey in the first inning, scoring two runs on just one hit.
• The Judges loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. Miskey got the first out on a strikeout, but first-year SS Bells Burdenski (San Diego, Calif. / Rancho Bernardo) singled to open the scoring. A wild pitch made it 2-0 in favor of the Judges, but they couldn't get the additional two runners in scoring position home, as Miskey got a grounder to short and a strikeout to end the frame.
• The Spartans claimed the lead in the bottom of the second, scoring five times on a walk, four hits and an error. CF Kela Jagoda had a two-run single, and 2B Amanda Riely had a run-scoring triple in the inning as the hosts went ahead, 5-2.
• Brandeis roared back in the top of the third, with runners reaching on a walk and hit batter. With two on and two out, first-year Elle Ehrlich (Falls Church, Va / Meridian) delivered her first collegiate home run, a three-run shot to left field that knotted the game at 5-all.
• The Judges couldn't hold on to the lead for very long, as CWRU scored four times on four hits in the bottom of the frame. After an infield single, a bunt, a walk and a wild pitch, Spartan SS KaiLi Gross singled up the middle to retake the lead for the hosts. Another Riely RBI and a successful squeeze bunt by DP Carli Tucci made it 9-5 in favor of the Spartans.
• The home team scored one more in the fourth and two in the fifth, but Brandeis was able to avoid losing by the eight-run rule.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges scored their five runs on just four hits, but they coaxed seven walks and were hit by pitches twice.
• Ehrlich's home run was the big blow for Brandeis, producing three RBI.
• Rookie CF Erin Hunt (Wake Forest, N.C. / Franklin Academy) was 1-3 with a career-high three stolen bases.
• Case pounded out 16 hits against Brandeis pitching, with Jagoda going 4-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.
• Combined with leadoff hitter Gross and three-hitter Riely, the top three spots in the Spartan lineup went 10-14 with eight RBI and seven runs scored.
• After winning her first eight decisions, first-year hurler Ragini Kannan (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) suffered her second-straight loss. She three 1.2 innings and allowed six hits and five earned runs, walking one without a strikeout.
• Junior Alex Cohen (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School) started and gave up six hits and five runs (four earned) in 1.1 innings of action. She fanned two and hit two with no walks.
• Senior Chandra Penton (Newton, Mass./Newton South) was the most effective Brandeis pitcher today, tossing three innings of four-hit ball, allowing two earned runs with one K.
• Miskey improved to a UAA-best 13-0 on the season, allowing three hits and five runs in four innings. She walked four and struck out three, allowing one home run.
• Kylie Hosey came in and shut things down, earning a save with three innings of one-hit pitching. She struck out five and walked one. It was her third save of the season.

UP NEXT

• The teams will continue their four-game series with a doubleheader starting tomorrow at noon.