WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University and Salve Regina University softball teams met for a doubleheader on Marcus Field today and each squad took a victory in a pair of pitcher's duels. Brandeis won the opener, 3-1, while Salve took the nightcap, 3-2. The Judges are 16-17 on the season, while the Seahawks move to 20-16.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• In the opener, Brandeis junior Melissa Soleimani (Somerset, Mass./Somerset Berkley Regional) outdueled SRU junior Kelsey Boarman (North Dighton, Mass./Coyle-Cassidy).
• Both players allowed six hit each, but Soleimani held the Seahawks to one run, while Boarman allowed three.
• Soleimani had two strikeouts without a walk. Boarman fanned five and issued two free passes.
• Salve opened the scoring on a Nikki Bukovsky (Westport, Conn./Staples) RBI single in the first.
• The Seahawks loaded the bases with no one out, but Soleimani got out of it with a force at home and a fly to center.
• The Judges responded with two in the bottom of the frame, with senior Madison Gagnon (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake) and junior Madison Hunter (Parker, Colo./Legend) driving in the runs.
• Brandeis added a run in the second when rookie Marissa DeLaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesian) blasted the first pitch she saw over the left field fence. It was her second home run of the season.
• Soleimani took it from there, retiring the side in order in five of the last six innings, including with the help of a line-drive double play in the fifth.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• In game two, SRU senior Nicole Parry (Quincy, Mass./Quincy) bested Brandeis sophomore Sadie-Rose Apfel (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) in the circle.
• Both pitchers only allowed one earned run, but Parry limited the damage from her eight hits and five walks, giving up two runs total.
• Apfel gave up just five hits and struck out two without walking a batter, but three Brandeis errors contributed to two unearned runs.
• Salve leadoff hitter Francesca Galeazzi (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical) led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout.
• Salve's Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn./Holy Cross) grounded to third, allowing Galeazzi to score, and a throw in the dirt put Lombardo on first safely.
• After a single by junior Kara O'Riley (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) put runners on first and second, rookie Emily Woznik (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) grounded to short.
• Brandeis freshman Marysa Massoia (Feeding Hills, Mass./Suffield Acad.) went to third with her throw, but it was dropped, loading the bases. Lombardo scored the second run for the Seahawks on a passed ball before Apfel stranded two in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts.
• The Judges had base runners in their first three at-bats before breaking through in the fourth.
• A walk, a Hunter double and a dropped throw at first loaded the bases with one out.
• Massoia drew the second free pass of the inning to cut the Brandeis deficit to 2-1, but Parry got two grounders to short, one producing a force at the plate, to keep the visitors ahead.
• The Judges loaded the bases again in the sixth on a hit and two walks, but a Parry K left the bases loaded again.
• SRU scored a key insurance run in the top of the seventh. Junior Lexi Souci (North Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) reached on an error and was forced at second on a Genvieve Benoit (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) grounder to short.
• Benoit stole second and scored on a single up the middle by rookie Megan Guest (Meriden, Conn./Maloney).
• The run came into play when Madison Gagnon led off the bottom of the seventh with her first home run of the season.
• Guest made a spectacular play on Brandeis senior Madison Sullivan (Dover, N.H./Dover) on the next at-bat, going over her shoulder to run down a ball as she approached the right field fence.
• That was key, as junior Alison Hecht (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) followed with a single that probably would have plated a run.
• The Judges eventually got the tying and winning runs in scoring position, but Parry got a pop to second base to end the game.
• Brandeis got three hits from Gagnon (3-4, RBI, R, HR) and two each from Hecht (2-3, BB) and Hunter (2-4, 2B).

UP NEXT

• The Judges head to New York City this weekend to play four games against UAA rival NYU, Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon.
• Salve's regular season is complete and they will be the second seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament starting this Saturday.