WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University baseball team picked up its first win over a Top-25 opponent since 2011 today, as they defeated #21 Case Western Reserve, 6-4, in the opening game of a University Athletic Association (UAA) doubleheader tonight. The Judges dropped the nightcap with the Spartans, 10-1.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 11-25, 3-15 UAA.
- Case Western Reserve, 23-12-1, 12-5-1, UAA, ranked #21 in Division III by D3Baseball.com
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME ONE (Brandeis 6, CWRU 4)
- Brandeis pitchers worked around trouble throughout the game, as Case Western Reserve outhit the Judges, 13-9, but the visitors left 14 runners on base compared to just five for the home team.
- CWRU broke the ice in the top of the second, as back-to-back singles were followed by back-to-back outfield flies, with the last from Jay Smith driving home Zach Carinci.
- The Judges responded in kinds in the bottom of the inning, leading off two hits, followed by a successful bunt by first-year Danny Tambascia (Newton, Mass./Newton North) that put them in scoring position. A wild pitch brought home grad student Jake Freed (Vernon Hills, Ill./Stevenson) to even the score at 1-1.
- The squads traded runs again in the fourth, with Jack Anderson's bases-loaded single to the mound scoring a run. Brandeis grad student Chris Lowe (Chatham, N.J./Oratory Prep) got a called third strike to leave the bases full.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Freed struck again, driving his first home run of the season out to right field. It was his fifth homer in a Brandeis uniform.
- Brandeis got out of trouble in the top of the sixth when reliever Cooper Gavin (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) induced a grounder to short with the bases loaded to end the inning.
- In the bottom of the frame, the Judges went ahead for good, as first-year catcher Keith Lee (Milford, Mass./Milford) singled through the right side to drive in two runs, making it 4-2.
- Three straight singles with two out for CWRU in the top of the seventh cut the Brandeis lead to 4-3, but the Judges added two more in the bottom of the inning. First-year SS Charlie Dunbar (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) scored on classmate 3B Ben Kuja's (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) single when the cutoff throw went awry, and Kuja scored two batters later on Freed's sacrifice fly.
- Case's Anderson walked and stole second and third in the eighth, scoring on Dane Camphausen's single, but Camphausen got no further.
- In the top of the ninth, first-year Brady Lane (Hingham, Mass./Boston College HS) worked around a two-out single to secure his sixth save of the year. He's now second in the UAA in saves, tied for 13th in Division III and is now alone in third on the Judges' single-season list.
- Lowe pitched 5.2 innings of work, allowing eight hits and two earned runs. He struck out two and walked two and had a no decision.
- The win went to Gavin, who threw 1.1 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run with a strike out and no walks. He improved to 2-3 on the season.
- Case's Archer Stankowski suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 6-1 after allowing four hits and four runs (three earned) in two innings.
- Freed was the Judges' top offensive player, going 2-2 with a walk, a homer, two RBI and three run scored.
- Brandeis's win snapped a nine-game losing streak against CWRU
- Their win against a ranked opponent was their first since April 20, 2011, a 10-3 win over Tufts, ranked #15 at the time.
HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME TWO (CWRU 10, Brandeis 1)
- CWRU starting pitcher Quinn Saunders was the star of the game in the second contest, holding Brandeis hitless for the first 5.2 innings of the game.
- After allowing two walks through the first five frames, Saunders retired the first two in the sixth before Kuja spoiled the no-hit bid.
- In the seventh, he allowed another hit to sophomore 2B Dylan Walsh (Arlington, Mass./Arlington), and came out of the game after an error and walk loaded the bases. Arjun Shetty got a strikeout to escape any damage.
- Brandeis prevented the shutout in the eighth, when Kuja had his second hit of the game and came around to score on a Freed single.
- Case scored in five of their nine at-bats. The Spartans got all they would need with two runs in the top of the first against Brandeis sophomore Andrew Tringe (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier).
- The visitors would add single runs in the fifth and ninth innings and put up three-spots in the fifth and eighth.
- Franco Alonso had a game-high three RBI for CWRU, while Tyler Stillson had three hits. Jack Anderson and Nick Harms each scored two runs.
- Kuja had two of Brandeis's four hits.
- Tringe suffered the loss, falling to 1-3 in the season after five innings of nine-hit ball, allowing six runs (five earned) with two walks and two strikeouts.
- Saunders improved to 2-1 for the Spartans, allowing two hits over 6.2 innings. He fanned seven and walked three. Shetty added six strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief.
UP NEXT
- The Judges and Spartans are scheduled to meet twice more this weekend, but rain in Saturday's forecast is expected to affect the schedule.
