WALTHAM, Mass. – The 21st-ranked Brandeis University softball team improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine contests today with a pair of wins over visiting WPI. The Judges opened the day with a 10-1 win in six innings thanks to two home runs by rookie DP Stacy Berg (Owings Mills, Md./McDonough), who drove in three more runs to in a 12-4 five-inning win in the nightcap. Brandeis improves to 15-4-1 overall with the sweep, while the Engineers drop to 11-12 on the campaign.
Berg was the day's big hitter, going 5-for-8 with seven RBI, five runs scored and two home runs, both coming in game one. She went deep in the first to make the score 2-0 and again in the fourth to put the Judges ahead 7-1. Berg now leads the team with six round-trippers and 29 RBI on the season.
Junior 1B Courtney Kelley (Leicester, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.) had just two hits on the day – one in each game - but she drove in five runs in the process. Kelley had a sacrifice fly in game two and produced two walk-off hits that invoked the eight-run rule in both contests. Kelley hit a long home run to center field to end game one in the sixth inning, her third blast of the campaign and the 13th of her career. In the second contest, she had a two-run single to end the game in the bottom of the fifth.
In all, the Judges scored runs in eight of today's 11 innings, putting up crooked numbers in seven of them. Brandeis was able to take advantage of eight WPI miscues on the afternoon to score 12 unearned runs, including 10 the second game. Brandeis got fine starting pitching performances. Senior Emily Vaillette (Milford, N.H./Milford) improved to 8-3 in the opener with five innings of two-hit ball, striking out seven and walking just one. In game two, sophomore Caroline Miller (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton), who allowed just three hits in five innings of work, giving up four runs (three earned) in the second inning of game two when she walked three batters, improving to 4-1 in the process.
For WPI on the day, junior RF Kim Martilla (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) and rookie LF Katrina Boynton (Balston Lake, N.Y./Shenendowha) each had two of their team's six hits. Boynton and junior 1B Sarah Johnson (Eastham, Mass./Nauset Regional) each doubled, while senior CF Kelly Johnson (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) had a key two-run single in game two that tied the game at 4-4 in the second inning.
Both teams' next games come against Worcester-area foe Clark University. WPI faces the Cougars in a NEWMAC twin-bill Friday at 3 p.m., while the Judges host them Saturday at noon.
BRANDEIS-WPI GAME ONE BOX SCORE
BRANDEIS-WPI GAME TWO BOX SCORE
(photo above courtesy Sportspix; from today's games will be available at sportspix.biz)
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