WALTHAM, Mass.– The Brandeis University baseball team split their doubleheader today against Washington University in St. Louis, losing the first game 18-8 and winning the second in thrilling fashion 7-6. The Judges' record moves to 15-8 (5-6 in the UAA), while the Bears' record moves to 10-17 (2-9 in the UAA).
In the first game, both teams started out fast. RBIs from third baseman Andrew Huang, left fielder Jack Miller, and right fielder Anthony Gross gave the Bears an early 3-0 lead before the Judges came back with five runs of their own. Graduate center fielder Dan Frey (Ipswich, Mass. / St. John's Prep) scored graduate first baseman Mike Khoury (E. Bridgewater, Mass. / E. Bridgewater) on a single to left field. Junior shortstop Brian King (Palos Verde, Calif. / Palos Verde) added the next one with a single to left. After Frey scored on a wild pitch, graduate third baseman Victor Oppenheimer (West Hills, Calif. / Chaminade) knocked an RBI single to third, bringing King home. Two batters later, designated hitter Liam Kennedy (Norwell, Mass. / Milton Academy) hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Oppenheimer.
The third and fourth innings were where the Bears took over. Relief pitcher Cam Roberts (Leominster, Mass. / Nashoba Regional) walked three Bears batters home in the third before getting the final out. The Bears then put up seven runs in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run home run from designated hitter Clayton Miller, to make the score 15-5. Junior right fielder Steve Simon (Hanover, Mass. / Hanover) added a two-run home run for the Judges in the bottom of the fifth, scoring King and himself. The Judges' scoring concluded with an RBI double by Oppenheimer in the bottom of the seventh.
Brandeis starter, senior Marc Maestri (Katonah, N.Y. / Somers), took the loss, moving his record to 2-2 on the season. Maestri pitched two and ⅔ innings, giving up five hits, eight runs (three earned), and three walks. Roberts gave up one hit, four earned runs, and five walks in one inning. Junior reliever Reid Latham (North Easton, Mass. / Oliver Ames) pitched ⅔ innings, giving up six hits, five earned runs, two walks, and one strikeout. Graduate reliever Brandon Musto (Milton, Mass. / Milton) finished the game off for the Judges, giving up five hits, one earned run, one walk, and four strikeouts in four and ⅔ innings. WashU reliever Kyle Coates took the win for the day, improving his record to 1-2 on the season. Starter Austin Sachen pitched four innings, giving up seven hits, seven earned runs, five walks, and five strikeouts, while Coates pitched the remaining five innings, giving up six hits, one earned run, one walk, and five strikeouts.
In the second game, the Bears took a quick lead. Highlighted by a two RBI double from second baseman Tim Van Kirk, two of his three in the game, the Bears were up 4-0 after two innings. Khoury got the Judges going in the third with a two-run home run after a leadoff single from junior left fielder Sam Nugent (Mansfield, Mass. / Mansfield). Khoury's homer was his UAA-leading 11th of the season and increased his career total to 29, extending his school record. Kennedy added to the total with an RBI single, making it a 4-3 game. After the third, the Judges' offense stalled, while the Bears added runs in the sixth and eighth on a sacrifice fly from Kirk and a single from Huang.
In the ninth inning, Simon started the scoring with his second home run of the doubleheader, scoring King and himself. It was his fourth homer of the season. Oppenheimer followed it up with a single to bring the winning run to the plate. After a walk, the Bears brought in closer Joseph Hettinger for the save opportunity. He got the first batter he faced to fly out, but walked Nugent to load the bases. With his team down one with the bases loaded and two outs, Khoury came up clutch with a two RBI single to walk it off for the Judges in a 7-6 final score.
Relief pitcher senior Christian Petrisko (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. / Westminster), got the win for the Judges, improving his record to 2-0 on the season. Petrisko pitched one and ⅓ innings giving up no hits or runs. Starter Asher Kaplan (Jamaica Plain, Mass. / Boston Latin) pitched seven and ⅔ innings, giving up 10 hits, six runs (three earned), one walk, and three strikeouts. WashU reliever Matt Lopes took the loss for the Bears, moving his record to 1-2 on the season. Lopes pitched five and ⅔ innings giving up six hits, four earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts. Starter Will Henkel pitched two and ⅔ innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs, one walk, and two strikeouts. Hettinger closed the game giving up one hit and the winning two runs.
Brandeis closes out their series against the visiting Bears tomorrow, April 17, with the game starting at 11 am ET.
--by Benton Ferebee '22