WALTHAM, Mass. – Top-seeded Brandeis University and No. 2 seeded Keene State College earned first round victories in the ECAC Division III New England Softball Tournament today, while No. 3 Simmons College eliminated No. 4 Western New England College in the first elimination game of the double-elimination tournament.

Brandeis (36-9-1) sent Western New England College (29-16) to the losers bracket, 6-0, thanks to another stellar performance by senior pitcher Kaitlin Streilein (Point Pleasant, N.J.). Streilein allowed just two hits in six innings of work to become Brandeis's first 20-game winner. She struck out 10, tying a season-high, and did not walk a batter in improving to 20-3 on the season.

Offensively, Streilein went 2-3 with a triple, two RBI and a run scored. She provided the only runs the Judges would need with her three-bagger in the first inning that plated rookie 2B Melisa Cagar (Ridgewood, N.J.) and sophomore SS Chelsea Korp (Worcester, Mass.). Rookie CF Carly Schmand (Bethesda, Md.) plated a run in the second on a ground out, while sophomore catcher Erin Ross (Manalapan, N.J.) blasted her third home run of the season in the third inning, a two-run shot that gave Brandeis a 5-0 lead. Ross added an RBI double in the fifth inning to finish the day 2-3 with three RBI.

WNEC got just two runners to second base, as sophomore LF Lauren Arsenault (Fitchburg, Mass.) singled and stole second in the first inning, and sophomore 2B Kate Post (Bridgewater, Mass.) singled and advanced on a wild pitch in the fifth. Junior hurler Laura Bower (Hudson, Mass.) suffered the loss, allowing six hits and five earned runs in three innings of work. She fell to 20-9.