WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University baseball team earned their first University Athletic Association series win of the season today as the Judges defeated visiting Washington University, 10-4, on Stein Diamond. With the win, the Judges take the series, 3-1, and improve to 16-8 overall, 6-6 in the UAA. The Bears fall to 10-18, 2-10 UAA.
After slow starts in the previous two games in the series, the Judges started strong against the Bears today, scoring four in the first. Grad student catcher Luke Hall (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) had a two-run double, while grad student centerfielder Dan Frey (Ipswich, Mass./St. John's Prep) followed with a two-run homer to right-centerfield. The bomb was Frey's sixth of the season – including four in the last seven games – and the 11th of his career. The two RBI moved him into seventh place on Brandeis's career list with 111.
WashU got one run back in the top of the second on a Zac Styka single, but the Judges responded in the bottom of the third on Hall's seventh home run of the season and an RBI double by junior SS Brian King (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) that made it 6-1. The home run was Hall's 14th of his career, tying him for 10th on the Judges' career list.
WashU cut into Brandeis's lead in the sixth, with an RBI double from LF Jack Miller and a two-run single for Styka, his second and third RBI of the day. The Judges responded with a run in the sixth on an RBI double by senior DH Liam Kennedy (Norwell, Mass / Milton Academy), who has five two-baggers among his 15 hits this season.
Brandeis closed out the scoring in the eighth when junior leftfielder Sam Nugent (Mansfield, Mass. / Mansfield) singled in a run, while another scored on an error. Grad student Mike Khoury (E. Bridgewater, Mass./E. Bridgewater) drove in a run for the fifth time in six games to close out the scoring. With 121 RBI for his career, Khoury needs two more to tie for third on the Judges' career list.
In all, the Judges pounded out 16 hits, with every starter getting at least one and seven different players getting two.
On the mound, sophomore Sean Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif./Vistimar) earned the win, going 5.1 innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four and improved to 2-1 on the season. After grad student Donnie Weisse (Swampscott, Mass. / Swampscott) tossed two-third of an inning in the sixth, junior Jakob Newman (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa) was fantastic over the final three frames, allowing two hits, a walk and a hit batter, striking out two, to earn his third save of the campaign. Newman has allowed just two earned runs in 19.0 innings to lower his ERA to a team-leading 0.95. Two of his three saves have been of the three-inning variety.
WashU starter Sebastian Guzman took the loss to fall to 1-3. He gave up 12 hits and seven earned runs in six innings of work, walking one and fanning four.
Brandeis is back in action on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. with a non-conference road game at Williams College before heading to Emory for their final UAA series of the season.