The Brandeis softball team will carry a perfect record into the UAA Championship after picking up a pair of wins on the first day of its Florida trip. The Judges improved to 6-0 on the season with a 10-8 win over Penn State-Behrend and a 7-2 victory against Salve Regina. It was the first game of the season for the Lions, while the Seahawks fell to 1-2.
The Judges continued to display a balanced attack, as six different players had at least three hits across the two contests.
Against Penn St.-Behrend, Brandeis scored seven runs in the first three innings and cruised to a 10-8 win. The Lions got a pair of runs in the top of the first, but junior catcher Cori Coleman (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale South) doubled home classmate Amanda Genovese (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) to halve the deficit in the bottom of the frame.
Brandeis exploded for four more runs in the second and two in the third. Sophomore Danielle Novotny (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley) and senior Melissa Nolan (Windsor, Conn./Loomis Chaffee) stroked RBI singles, and Coleman plated two with a single of her own. Senior Leah McWilliams (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) added an RBI double in the third.
The Lions got one run back in the third and two in the fifth, but the Judges added three more in the sixth, as McWilliams and junior Nikki Cote (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph's) both ripped RBI doubles. Penn St.-Behrend scored three unearned runs in the seventh, but couldn't battle all the way back.
Rookie Emma Krulick (Maitland, Fla./Winter Park) went the distance, giving up five earned runs and striking out eight in seven innings of work. She moved to 2-0 on the season.
Cote paced the Brandeis offense with three hits and three RBIs. Sophomore 2b Madison Gagnon (Westlake Village, Calif./Beverly Hills) added three hits and scored three times. Genovese stole four bases and scored twice. After swiping two more bags against Salve Regina, Brandeis' career steals leader now has 14 steals in six games this season.
Early runs were the story in the second game as well, as the Judges scored all the runs they'd need in the first frame. Novotny singled home Genovese, then scored on a Nolan single. Nolan scored what proved to be the winning run on a wild pitch, and Gagnon plated junior Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline High School) for Brandeis' fourth run.
Kamber doubled home Nolan in the third, before scoring herself on a sacrifice fly by Gagnon. Kamber scored on an error in the fifth inning for Brandeis' seventh. Salve Regina scored two in the sixth for the final 7-2 scoreline.
Rookie Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River Community) earned the win, pitching four innings of no-hit ball and striking out five. Kamber had three hits and three runs, while Nolan had two hits, two runs, and pitched three innings in relief.
The Judges kick off UAA play tomorrow. They take on Case Western at 10:00 a.m. before a 12:30 tilt with WashU.