ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University softball team suffered a 6-0 loss to 23rd-ranked Washington (Mo.) University to close out the first half of the University Athletic Association (UAA) tournament today. The Judges finished the first half with a 4-4 overall record, 1-4 in the league.
Brandeis mustered just three hits against Bear starter Annie Pitkin, who retired 11 in a row after hitting the first Judge batter of the game. With two out in the bottom of the fourth, senior SS Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) and senior catcher Cori Coleman (Burr Ridge, Ill./Hinsdale South) hit back-to-back singles, but Pitkin got a grounder to shortstop to end the inning.
The Judges put two runners on again in the seventh, when Kamber led off with a single and senior Jordan Buscetto (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) walked with two away, but another grounder to third base ended the game.
Brandeis rookie Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) gave up three hits in the first two innings, getting out a bases-loaded situation in the second with a line-drive double play. The Bears broke through for an unearned run against sophomore Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River) in the third, when Hannah Mehrle singled to center field. That plated Kenzie James, who had reached on a throwing error. The Judges threw a runner out on the basepath and got a strikeout to escape further damage.
The Bear broke things open in the fifth with four runs on three hits. The big blow was a two-run double down the line by Adrienne White. Halle Steinberg added an insurance RBI in the seventh to round out the scoring for Washington U.
Pitkin earned the win for WashU, striking out nine and allowing just three hits and one walk to improve to 8-1 this season.
Brandeis returns to action tomorrow with games against UAA Co-Leader Rochester
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