WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University softball team scored 20 runs on 20 hits across a pair of games as the Judges defeated visiting Carnegie Mellon University, 11-1 in six innings and 9-1 in five frames, in the University Athletic Association openers for both teams.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 7-1, 2-0 UAA.
• Carnegie Mellon: 8-8, 0-2 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1 (Brandeis 11, CMU 1 – 6 innings)

• The Tartans struck first in Game 1, with designated player Koko Sagae homering in the second inning to snap a 20-inning scoreless streak by Judge rookie Ragini Kannan (Westford, Mass. / Westford Academy).
• Brandeis answered in the bottom of the third when junior DP Alex Cohen (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School) drilled her second home run of the season to center field with one aboard, giving the Judges a 2-1 lead.
• That was all Kannan needed, as she scattered seven hits over six innings for her fourth complete game of the season. She struck out seven and walked just one. Kannan improved to 4-0 on the season.
• Brandeis exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the sixth, getting RBI doubles from sophomore catcher Tristan Boyer (Chesapeake, Va. / Grassfield) and senior RF Lily Medici (New City, N.Y. / Clarkstown North) before sophomore 2B Anna Kolb (Alexandria, Va. / Thomas A. Edison) hit a walk-off three-run home run, the first home run of her career.
• Three Judges had two-hit performances, Cohen, Kolb, and first-year CF Erin Hunt (Wake Forest, N.C. / Franklin Academy). Kolb and Cohen both had three RBI games.
• Seven different CMU players had hits, with Sagae's homer the only one going for extra bases. The Tartans' Libby Eichelberger had two stolen bases.
• Amanda Smith shouldered the loss, falling to 5-3 on the season. She allowed nine hits and six earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. She struck out 10 and walked two.

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 2 (Brandeis 9, Carnegie Mellon 1 – 5 innings)

• Brandeis opened the scoring in the second game, with Cohen driving home Hunt, who had reached on an error, with a double.
• Sagae struck again for the visitors in the second inning, leading off with a double to right and scoring two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Emily Finger.
• The Judges responded in the bottom of the second with five runs. First-year 1B Maddie Manes (San Clemente, Calif / San Juan Hills) broke the tie with a two-run home run to right field, the first of her collegiate career.
• Hunt followed three batters later with a two-run triple, scoring on a sacrifice fly.
• After Cohen kept the Tartan bats silent, Brandeis walked off with another victory in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three times. Senior pinch hitter Sofia Micale (Winchester, MA / Winchester) had an RBI single, while Hunt was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and first-year Elle Ehrlich (Falls Church, Va / Meridian) drew a five-pitch walk to end the contest.
• Cohen moved to 3-1 in the circle this season with five innings of two-hit ball. She allowed one earned run, struck out five, and did not walk a batter.
• CMU's Grace Fujino dropped to 3-2 on the season, allowing eight hits and nine runs (eight earned) in 4.2 innings. She walked three and struck out one.
• First-year SS Bells Burdenski (San Diego, Calif. / Rancho Bernardo) was the only multiple hitter in the game, going 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
• Hunt went 1-3 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored.
• Kira Monji had CMU's only other hit besides Sagae's double.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Kannan has only allowed three runs all season long, all on solo home runs.
• She has completed all four of her games so far this season and owns a 38-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• These were Carnegie Mellon's first-ever games played in Waltham, with the previous eight contests having taken place in Pittsburgh.

UP NEXT

• The Judges and Tartans will meet tomorrow at 11 AM in the third of a four-game set.