CLERMONT, Florida – The Brandeis University softball team earned a season-opening split in spectacular fashion, as Judge senior Ragini Kannan (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy) no-hit Emmanuel College in the team's second game of the day for a 14-0 win. The Judges had dropped a narrow 4-2 loss to Allegheny College in their season debut. The games were played at THE Spring Games in Clermont, Florida.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 1-1.
• Emmanuel, 1-9.
• Allegheny, 3-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. EMMANUEL (14-0, 5 innings)

• Kannan (1-0) was in control in her first career no-hitter. She faced one batter over the minimum in five innings, issuing only a one-out walk in the third.
• Kannan struck out four Saints, with eight of the other 11 outs of the game coming on fly balls.
• Kannan's previous low-hit game was a one-hitter thrown in her second collegiate start as a first-year in 2023.
• The Judges' offense exploded for 14 runs on 14 hits. Eleven different Brandeis batters had hits, while 10 scored runs and seven had RBI.
• Only three Judges registered multi-hit games, with junior 1B Brooke Boehmer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) pacing the offense by going 2-3 with a double, a triple, a team-high three runs scored and two RBI.
• Two first-years had two-hit, three-RBI games, as DP Taryn Rainey (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) was 2-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, while 2B Mia Deck (Laguna Hills, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) was 2-3 with a triple and three RBI.
• The Judges scored in all four at-bats – six in the first inning, four in the second, one in the third and three more in the fourth. The game ended after the top of the fifth because of the eight-run rule.

HOW IT HAPPENED VS. ALLEGHENY (2-4)

• In the season opener against Allegheny College out of Pennsylvania, the Judges nearly staged a comeback before falling to the Gators, 4-2.
• Allegheny opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as Abby Robinson singled to right, moved to second on a bunt and to third on wild pitch. She scored on a grounder to shortstop.
• First-year pitcher Madeline Jennings (New York, N.Y./Beacon) got out of trouble in the second and third innings before AC struck for three more in the fourth.
• A single, a bunt and a single made it 2-0 in favor of the Gators, while an RBI triple followed by a wild pitch doubled the score to 4-0.
• The Judges made things interesting in their last two at-bats. In the sixth, senior Erin Hunt (Wake Forest, N.C./Franklin Academy) singled and stole second, scoring three batters later on a single to left by sophomore 3B Jordan Wallace (Howell, N.J./Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.)), spoiling Allegheny's shutout bid.
• In the seventh, sophomore catcher Dylan Yamamura (Newbury Park, Calif./Newbury Park) drew a leadoff walk. Rookie pinch runner Alexa Johnson (La Crescenta, Calif./Crescenta Valley) stole second and scored on a Rainey double.
• One out later, Hunt drew a six-pitch walk, and a wild pitch put the tying run in scoring position with two away, but Allegheny's Madison Hulse got a grounder to third to end the contest.
• Hunt reached base three times out of the leadoff spot with two singles and a walk, stealing two bases.
• Rainey's double was the team's only extra-base hit.
• Jennings (0-1) took the loss in her collegiate debut, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in four innings. She walked one and struck out one. Sophomore Jamie Staub (Lawrenceville, N.J./Hun School) threw two hitless innings of relief to give the Judges a chance to come back.

UP NEXT

• The Judges will meet Northwestern (Minn.) and Susquehanna (Pa.) tomorrow on the second of three days at THE Spring Games in Florida.