CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Brandeis University softball team
swept Pine Manor in Monday's doubleheader. The Judges won the
first game 5-0 and came back in the second game for a 4-3
victory. With the two wins, Brandeis is 10 games over .500
with a record of 22-12 while Pine Manor falls to 18-18 on the
season.
In the first game, Brandeis rookie P Caroline Miller
(Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Harriton) picked up the win as she
pitched six shutout innings striking out five batters and only
giving up three hits and a walk. The offense scored all five
runs in the fifth inning as sophomore 2B Melisa Cagar
(Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and rookie RF Lara
Hirschler (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) led off with
back-to-back singles. A sacrifice fly plated home Cagar as
she had advanced to third on Hirschler's single. The big hit
of the inning came from sophomore 1B Courtney
Kelley (Leicester, Mass./Notre Dame
Academy) who capped off the inning with a two-run double
to put the Judges up 5-0 and solidified the win.
In the second game, Cagar led the Judges offensively reaching
base in all four plate appearances with two singles, a walk and an
error, with three stolen bases. Junior P Emily
Vaillette (Milford, N.H./Milford) pitched seven innings
giving up only two hits. Pine Manor scored all three of their
runs due to five errors committed by Brandeis.
After Pine Manor took a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth,
Brandeis responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Kelley drove in one and scored a run in the fourth to pull Brandeis
within one of Pine Manor. In the bottom of the fifth, the
Judges took the lead as Marianne Specker (So. Windsor,
Conn./Westminster School) drove home Cagar who led off
with a walk and then advanced to third on a single and a sacrifice
bunt. Junior C Erin Ross (Manalapan,
N.J./Manalapan) drove home the game-winning run on a
two-out RBI single. The one-run lead was all that Vaillette
needed as she went on to record her ninth win of the season.
The Judges have six more games and all coming in doubleheader
home games. The next contest is on April 22, against Salem
State at 4:00 p.m.
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