ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Brandeis University softball team played a pair of five-inning contests on the fourth day of the 2015 University Athletic Association (UAA) Tournament and were on both sides of the coin. They fell to 19th-ranked Rochester, 9-1, in the opener before defeating NYU, 12-4, in game two. The Judges now sit at 5-5 overall, 2-5 in the UAA.
Against NYU, after falling behind, 4-0, after half an inning, the Judges scored multiple runs in all four of their turns at bat. In the first, NYU junior Kahala Bonsignore had a two-run double, while a bases-loaded error led to two more Violet runs. Brandeis responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-run home run from senior SS Anya Kamber (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline) to left field. It was Kamber's first of the season and the eighth of her career and cut the deficit to 4-2.
In the second, the first four Judges singled, with senior RF Amanda Genovese (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) driving in the third run. After infield ground-outs by juniors Madison Gagnon (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake) and Madison Sullivan (Dover, N.H./Dover) gave Brandeis a one-run lead, Kamber drove in her third run of the game to make it 6-4, Judges.
Two NYU errors in the third inning helped Brandeis score three more runs, including an RBI single by Gagnon. In the fourth, rookie Amanda Shore (San Jose, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty) doubled home a run for her first collegiate RBI. Sophomore Leah Shapiro (Beverly Hills, Calif./Beverly Hills) followed with a two-run triple to close out the scoring, 12-4.
Six different Judges had multiple hits, led by Shore's 3-for-3 performance with a double, an RBI and three runs scored. They were the first three hits of her college career. Kamber's three RBI were a team-high, with Genovese, Gagnon and Shapiro plating two apiece. Sophomore Melissa Soleimani (Somerset, Mass./Somerset Berkley Regional) earned the win in the circle with a five-inning complete game. She allowed six hits and four runs (two earned), walking two and striking out two.
In the opener against #19 Rochester, the star was Yellowjacket Brittany Grage, both at the plate and in the circle. She went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double and six RBI. She opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning and followed it up with a second-inning grand slam. Grage also tossed four innings of one-hit ball. She struck out four and walked just one.
Grage didn't allow a hit until senior Jordan Buscetto (Old Lyme, Conn./Old Lyme) doubled down the left-field line to lead off the bottom of the fifth. She moved to third on a grounder by Gagnon and scored on an infield out by junior Danielle Novotny (Milford, N.J./Delaware Valley). Genovese followed with a single and a stolen base, but the Judges couldn't get her home to extend the game.
Rookie Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford, Conn. / Westhill) suffered the loss, falling to 1-1 on the season. She gave up seven of the nine UR runs in the first two innings, while sophomore Samantha Wroblewski (Delray Beach, Fla./Spanish River) threw the final 3.2 innings and gave up two more runs.
With her stolen base in the first game, Genovese now has 111 for her career, moving her into 21st on the career Division III list.
The Judges take on Case Western Reserve and #8 Emory for the second time each in the tournament tomorrow.
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