NEWTON, Mass. -- The Brandeis University softball team rapped out a season-high 13 hits. but the Judges fell just short against Lasell College, 7-6, today.

Brandeis (7-9) missed out on a chance to get to the .500 mark even though eight of nine starters had base hits. The Judges were paced by sophomore Kaitlin Streilein's 3-4 performance that included her first home run of the season in the third inning. Sophomore Dani Mayer (Larkspur, Calif.) went 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI with a double, but also suffered the loss in the circle.

The Judges fell behind in the bottom of the first as Lasell hit a pair of RBI doubles. Brandeis answered in the second as Mayer and junior Marissa Rubin (Teaneck, N.J.) added run-producing two-baggers of their own. Strielein's round tripper and an RBI groundout by sophomore RF Natalie Volpe (Southington, Conn.) put the Judges ahead, 4-2, in the top of the third, but the Lasers got one back in the bottom of the inning before their big frame.

Lasell (3-8) added four runs in the fourth. With one out, five of the next six Laser hitters reached base, with a sacrifice bunt mixed in. The eventual winning run came in on a double steal of home. In the sixth, Brandeis scored two runs on an error by the centerfielder and then proceeded to load the bases. The Judges got an unlucky break when a wild pitch deflected off the umpire right back the catcher as Streilein was attempting to score from third. The Judges were unable to mount a threat after that.