PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A couple of big innings proved to be the difference today in a University Athletic Association doubleheader, as host Carnegie Mellon took two from visiting Brandeis, 8-6 and 13-7.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis: 8-11, 4-4 UAA.
- Carnegie Mellon: 10-10, 4-4 UAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1: CMU 8, Brandeis 6
- Brandeis looked to be in control of this one, as the Judges took a 6-1 lead into the sixth inning.
- CMU scored first on a first-inning ground out, but Brandeis tied things up in the third on an RBI single from junior 2B Fiona Doiron (Charlton, Mass./Marianapolis Prep).
- The Judges started to pull away with four runs in the top of the fifth, with senior 3B Haley Nash (Delmar, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) delivering a two-run single, followed by a two-run double by sophomore LF Elle Ehrlich (Falls Church, Va./Meridian) that made it 5-1.
- Sophomore CF Bells Burdenski (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) reached on an error in the sixth, allowing first-year 1B Hannah Fletcher (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) to score the Judges' sixth run.
- After leaving six runners on base in the first five innings, CMU finally got to Brandeis sophomore starter Ragini Kannan (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) in the bottom of the sixth.
- The Tartans sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs. The hosts executed a double steal for their first run, then cut their deficit to 6-3 on a double by LF Libby Eichberger.
- CMU 2B Kira Monji singled home a run to make it 6-4. The Tartans then tied the game at 6-all on a two-run double by RF Maddy Beall and took the lead on a two-run home run by DP Maya Goodwin.
- Nash singled with two outs in the top of the seventh, but the Judges could not advance her as the Tartans took the win.
- Kannan fell to 5-4 in the circle with six innings of 11-hit ball. She allowed eight runs (seven earned), struck out six and walked just one.
- CMU's Grace Fujino earned the win in relief, improving to 2-5 with two innings of one-hit relief, allowing one unearned run.
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 2: CMU 13, Brandeis 7
- The second game was a slugfest, featuring UAA records for most home runs in a game for one team (CMU, 6) and both teams (8).
- The Judges opened the scoring in the top of the first on a two-run home run by Nash. It was her team-leading sixth of the season and the 25th of her career. Nash became just the third player in school history to reach the 25-homer plateau.
- For the first time in four of the Judges' scoring innings, the Tartans answered, as CMU's Goodwin hit a two-run homer of her own.
- The hosts looked to blow things open in the third, when they scored six runs on five hits and a walk. They blasted three home runs in the inning – solo shots by Kiera Boucher and Allison Li, who went back-to-back with a three-run shot by Abbey Reese, setting the score at 8-2.
- The Judges didn't go quietly, getting four runs on four hits in the next inning. Fletcher delivered an RBI single after the first two batters reached. Three batters later, Burdenski unleashed a three-run home run. She matched Nash for the team lead with six on the season and reached 10 blasts for her career, making the score 8-6.
- Unfortunately, the Tartans bounced right back with a pair of two-run homers of their own in the bottom of the inning, one from Beall and Reese's second homer of the game, putting CMU back on top, 12-6.
- Brandeis added an unearned run in the fifth on an RBI groundout by Fletcher, but Carnegie Mellon again got the run back with an RBI single by Monji, closing the scoring at 13-7.
- In the circle, Brandeis senior Alex Cohen (West Palm Beach, Fla./The Benjamin School) fell to 3-7, while Fujino pitched the middle three innings and picked up the relief win for CMU for the second game in a row to improve to 3-5.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will play a doubleheader at Wellesley College on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. before hosting their first home UAA series of the season next weekend against Emory University.
