Softball sweeps Salem (N.C.) to close Feb. break at 4-0

Keri Lehtonen '19 (Photo by Sportspix.com / Mike Tureski)
Keri Lehtonen '19 (Photo by Sportspix.com / Mike Tureski)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Brandeis University softball team came from behind in both ends of a doubleheader today to defeat the Salem College Spirits, 5-3 and 5-2, to close out their February Break trip to North Carolina. The Judges return home with a 4-0 record, while Salem falls to 3-2.

The Judges trailed Salem, 3-1, headed into the seventh inning. Brandeis had gotten on the board in the third inning on an RBI double by senior catcher Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn./Plainfield). The Spirits answered back in the bottom of the fourth, when their catcher rapped a bases-loaded double off of Brandeis rookie Amidori Anderson (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs) that plated all three runs.

Salem faced just six batters over the next two innings, but Brandeis broke through for four runs in the top of the seventh. The Judges loaded the bases with one out, but Salem pitcher Kayla Ogle got a strikeout for the second out. Rookie 3B Marley Felder (Miami, Fla./American Heritage) came through with a game-tying double, and Lehtonen followed with her second two-bagger of the day, plating two more runs and putting the Judges ahead,  5-3. Brandeis junior Scottie Todd (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest), who retired nine of the 10 batters she faced, shut the door in the bottom of the seven with two strikeouts to pick up her second win of the season.

In the second game of the twinbill, rookie Sydney Goldman (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame) took to the circle. She gave up a pair of unearned runs in the second inning on two walks, a single and an error, but allowed just three hits and struck out seven the rest of the way to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Judges tied the game in the top of the third on a two-run double by sophomore SS Jolie Fujita (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School). Brandeis took the lead on an RBI double by senior Marissa DeLaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan), followed by a run-producing single from junior Caroline Sippin (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) that made it 4-2. The Judges tacked on a fifth run in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Todd.

For the day, the Judges had 19 hits, nine of which were doubles. Lehtonen had three two-baggers on the day, while Todd and DeLaurentis had two each. The three Brandeis pitchers combined to hold Salem to five runs on eight hits after the Spirits had scored 33 runs on 38 hits over their first three contests.

The Judges are now off until March 16th when they travel to Clark University in Worcester for a 12 noon doubleheader.