ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.- The Brandeis University softball team
picked up their second win of the season in a 3-2 University
Athletic Association win over #16 Rochester. With the
victory, the Judges move to 2-4 overall, 2-2 in the UAA while
Rochester falls to 6-5, 1-3 in the UAA.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first two innings.
Rochester broke the 0-0 deadlock in the top of the third as they
scored two runs on two hits and two errors. The first run
came on a two-out RBI double to right center by rookie Nikki Lee
DiSalvio (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon). Their second run came off a
Brandeis throwing error for the second unearned run of the
inning. Rochester P Beth Amano (Buffalo, N.Y./John F.
Kennedy) held the Judges to only two hits until the fifth
inning.
In the fifth, Brandeis junior SS Chelsea Korp
(Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) led things off with a single
to third base. She was followed up by sophomore 2B
Melisa Cagar (Ridgewood, Conn./Ridgewood) who
walked and pushed Korp up to second base. With still nobody
out, rookie RF Samantha Gajewski (Elkridge, Md./Long
Reach) reached on a sacrifice bunt down the third
baseline. The third baseman made a play on the ball but
committed an error, allowing Korp to score from second. With
no outs, Cagar and Gajewski produced a key double steal to get both
players into scoring position. Rookie DH Marianne
Specker (So. Windsor, Conn./Westminster School) singled up
the middle to drive in Cagar and move Gajewski to third. The Judges
scored one more run on an RBI groundout by rookie 3B
Brittany Grimm (Perkiomenville, Pa/Perkiomen
Valley) which drove in Gajewski and put Brandeis up 3-2.
The Judges' 3-2 lead would not be lost as Rochester looked to
tie it up but failed. Brandeis rookie P Caroline
Miller (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) pitched extremely well
to earn her first collegiate win as a Judge. In 6.0 innings
pitched she gave up five hits, two runs (both unearned) and only
one walk while striking out five before handing the ball off in the
seventh inning to junior P Emily Vaillette (Milford,
NH/Milford). Vaillette came in and pitched a perfect
inning to record her first save on the year.
In their second game of the day,
the Judges pushed eighth-ranked Emory to the
brink for the second time this season, but the Judges fell just
short against the Eagles, dropping a 6-2 decision in nine innings
today in a University Athletic Association contest.
Brandeis (2-5, 2-3 UAA) was unable to hold on to the momentum
from their 3-2 win over No. 16 Rochester from early in the day,
falling behind in the third inning on an RBI single by Eagle rookie
LF Jessica Thomas (Springfield, Va./W. Springfield). The Judges put
two runners on in the bottom of the frame on singles by sophomore
CF Carly Schmand (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) and
sophomore 2B Melisa Cagar (Ridgewood,
N.J./Ridgewood), but could not push home an equalizer.
Emory (19-2, 4-1 UAA) added their second run in the top of the
sixth on a two-out single up the middle by senior DH Carey
Smith-Marchi (Mill Valley, Calif./Urban School of San Francisco).
With runners on first and third in the frame, Brandeis rookie
Caroline Miller (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) came on and coaxed a
ground out to escape further trouble.
The Judges finally broke through against EU rookie Kelsey Floyd
(Newnan, Ga./Northgate) in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore 3B
Danielle Lavallee (Sutton, Mass./Notre Dame Acad.)
led off with a walk and rookie SS Brittany Grimm
(Perkiomenville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) singled to put runners on
first and second. Floyd got the first out on a strikeout, but
rookie Lara Hirschler (Bellmore, N.Y./John F.
Kennedy) reached on an error to load the bases. That brought up
Schmand, who singled to drive in two runs and knot the game, 2-2.
She advanced on the throw, putting two runners in scoring position,
but Eagle senior Shanon Anderson (Sahuarita, Ariz./Sahuarita)
retired the next two Brandeis batters by snagging a hard liner back
through the box and inducing a grounder to second.
Both teams had base runners in the eighth inning but could not
produce runs. In the ninth, Miller retired the first two batters on
infield grounders, but EU junior CF Cassie Walsh (Palm City,
Fla/Jensen Beach) reached on a bunt single and advanced to second
on an error. That flustered Miller a bit, who tossed back-to-back
wild pitches, allowing what proved to be the winning run to score.
Miller then issued back-to-back walks followed by a three-run home
run by Emory senior 1B Kim Bandy (Duluth, Ga./Duluth) that put the
game out of reach, 6-2. The Judges got one base runner in the
ninth, but it wasn't enough.
Brandeis finished with five hits, with Schmand's 2-for-4
performance with both RBI the only multiple hitter for the Judges.
After junior Emily Vaillette (Milford,
N.H./Milford) scattered six hits over 5.2 innings, allowing two
earned runs, Miller suffered the loss by giving up four hits and
four runs with three walks in 3.1 innings to fall to 2-1 on the
season.
ROCHESTER
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EMORY BOX
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