WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College softball and Brandeis University split a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon. The Blue (7-6) took the opener, 8-0, before the Judges (14-8) countered with the big bats in an 11-2 second game.

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 1 (Wellesley 8, Brandeis 0 - 6 innings)
Junior Sarah Wicker was lights out in the circle for the home team, fanning 10 over six shutout innings of work. Wicker only allowed three hits and a single walk in the complete-game. Wicker moved up to sixth in Blue program history in career strikeouts (236).

After two and a half scoreless innings, Wellesley broke the stalemate in the bottom of the third. Junior Diana Borrison started the inning by cracking a triple deep center that bounced off of the top of the fence, and Giana Jones drove Borrison in with a sacrifice fly to left.

The Blue added three more tallies in the fourth inning to go up 4-0. Brooklyn Awad reached base on a single and advanced to second. Awad stole third and scored on a fielding miscue on the throwdown. Wellesley went on to load the bases, and Jones added a pair of RBI.

Three more runs came in for Wellesley in the fifth to give the hosts a commanding 7-0 lead. Junior Jill Colgan plated senior Andrea Delgado with an RBI single to left field. Junior Emily Kulhanek and Nicol had back-to-back sacrifice flies to right field that caused Awad and Colgan to score.

Wellesley hit the eight-run mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth. After Borrison reached base with a single, first-year Jailey Polski pinch ran and stole second. Junior Alena Mulhern ended the game by driving in Polski with a double down the left field line.

First-year Madeline Jennings (New York, N.Y./Beacon) pitched the whole outing for the Judges, surrendering 10 hits, eight runs (seven earned), and striking out three. She falls to 5-4 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED, GAME 2 (Brandeis 11, Wellelsey 2 - 5 innings)
Brandeis exacted its revenge with eight runs in the top of the first. Senior Bells Burdenski (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) opened the scoring with an RBI double. Classmate Elle Ehrlich (Falls Church, Va./Meridian) followed with an RBI single through the left side. Junior Katie Baydian (Massapequa, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy Academy) hit a single to the same spot that scored a pair. First-year Mia Deck (Laguna Hills, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic) joined the hit parade, driving in a run with a single. A groundout from senior Erin Hunt (Wake Forest, N.C./Franklin Academy) made it 7-0 when Baydian came in to score. Catcher Taryn Rainey (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) singled down the right field line to bring the eighth and final run of the inning.

Wellesley was able to put two runs on the board in the second. Sophomore Brynne Mellady drove in Nicol and senior Emeline Gaunce with a two-run double. 

The Judges added a run to lead 9-2 in the third when sophomore Jordan Wallace (Howell, N.J./Choate Rosemary Hall) hit a sacrifice fly that allowed Rainey to advance home.

Brandeis made it 11-2 in the fourth when Ehrlich unfurled a big two-run homer over the left field fence. It was her first of the season the fourth of her career. It capped a 3-3 performance with three RBI and two runs scored. That score held through the end of the fifth, with Brandeis winning via the mercy rule.

Sophomore Jamie Staub (Lawrenceville, N.J./Hun School) improved to 4-2 with a complete-game win for Brandeis. Staub fanned three while giving up four hits.

UP NEXT
The Judges will take on Bates College on Friday at 2 p.m. in a game that has been rescheduled from Thursday at 3 p.m.