WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University softball team blasted five home runs from five different hitters today as the Judges swept a doubleheader from Eastern Nazarene College in their home opener on Marcus Field. With the win, the Judges improve to 6-0 on the season, matching their best start since 2014, while ENC falls to 8-6.

ENC scored first in both games, with 1B Kiley Ozaki singling home a run in the first inning of Game 1, and catcher Lauren Clements delivering a sacrifice fly in first frame of the second contest.

In the first game, Brandeis bounced right back, with junior pitcher Scottie Todd (Tampa, Fla./Strawberry Crest) plating a run with a groundout and an ENC error putting Brandeis ahead, 2-1. The Judges tacked on single runs in the second, on an RBI double by senior catcher Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn./Plainfield), and in the third, on a single by junior 1B PJ Ross (Kingston, N.H./Sanborn Regional). The Judges broke it open in the fifth with their first two homers of the day, a solo shot by Todd, her third of the season and fifth of her career, and a two-run job by sophomore Melissa Rothenberg (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence), the first of her career. Todd added a third RBI on the day with a sixth-inning single.

In game two, Brandeis was kept off the board until the fourth inning. Ross tied the game up with a double to center, scoring senior LF Marissa DeLaurentis (Centereach, N.Y./St. John the Baptist Diocesan), who led off with a two-bagger of her own. Rookie pitcher Sydney Goldman (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Notre Dame) singled home Ross to help her own cause and give the Judges a 2-1 lead. In the fifth, rookie 1B Ashleigh Fultz (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College H.S.) delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1, and Goldman followed with her first career homer, a two-run shot. Brandeis rounded out the scoring with four runs in the sixth, including a solo home run by sophomore shortstop Jolie Fujita (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School), a two-run blast by Fultz, and a game-ending double down the left field line by Rothenberg.

In the circle, Todd and Goldman were dominating as each improved to 3-0 on the season. Todd allowed five hits over seven innings in the opener, striking out eight and walking just one. In the nightcap, Goldman fanned 1-0 in six innings of work, allowing just four hits. For ENC, Elisabeth Schaffer took the loss in Game 1 to fall to 6-2 on the season, while Meghan Stanley dropped to 0-2 with the Game 2 defeat.

Brandeis returns to action on Sunday, March 24, at home against Simmons in a noon doubleheader.