Blue Softball Drops Pair of Games to Brandeis

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College softball dropped two non-conference games to Brandeis on a warm April Wednesday, including a tightly contested extra innings affair in game one.

Junior Alex Cohen (West Palm Beach, Fla.) had four RBIs and pitched six innings of two in game two for the Judges (14-9). Sophomore Charis Chung (San Gabriel, Calif.) scored a pair of runs for the Blue (2-15-1). 

Game 1 | Brandeis 4, Wellesley 2 | Final (8 Innings)

An offensive burst in extra innings pushed Brandeis past Wellesley in a defensive game one.

Wellesley senior Marisa Sgambati (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Brandeis first year Ragini Kannan (Westford, Mass.) both pitched eight innings for their respective teams, with Sgambati striking out six while allowing eight hits and Kannan striking out eight and giving up six hits.

The Blue got on the board in the bottom of the first when first year Andrea Delgado (Miami, Fla.) drove in senior Ingrid Hsu (San Ramon, Calif.) with a single. Delgado went three for four in the game, her third straight three-hit performance. 

The Judges evened the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third when Cohen singled to center field, scoring a run for Brandeis. Neither team could muster much offense after the third, with the score still one run apiece at the end of the seventh.

Brandeis got a big boost in the top of the eighth, with Cohen tripling in two runs before scoring on a throwing error to give the Judges a 4-1 advantage. Wellesley got a run back in the bottom of the eighth with Hsu singling in Chung but the Judges squashed the comeback effort with a ground out ending the game.

Game 2 | Brandeis 8, Wellesley 2 | Final

Brandeis got on the scoreboard in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to center field by junior Haley Nash (Belmar, N.Y.). Neither team scored again until the top of the fifth when Nash reached first on an error, scoring a run.

The Blue earned two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Junior Elli DeCleene (North Reading, Mass.) hit into a fielder's choice with runners on second and third. While DeCleene was thrown out at second, both runners scored, tying the game at 2-2.

Brandeis tallied five runs in the top of the sixth. Senior Lily Medici (New City, N.Y.) started the scoring with an RBI triple, and advanced home on a throwing error. A throwing error allowed first year Erin Hunt (Wake Forest, N.C.) to score, upping the Judges' lead to 5-2. A sacrifice fly from Cohen and an RBI double from first year Maddie Manes (San Clemente, Calif.) brought Brandeis' lead to 7-2 by the time the damage was done.

The Judges scored one more run in the top of the seventh, with senior Jamie Pippin (Redmond, Wash.) bringing home a run on a double.

Cohen threw six innings for Brandeis with a trio of strikeouts. Sophomore Kate Liston (Boulder, Colo.) struck out one over 5.2 innings for Wellesley while Chung had a pair of hits and scored a run for the Blue.

The Blue head to Wheaton on Friday for a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games at 3:00 & 5:00 PM. The Judges will return home to square off against New York U. on Friday at 3:00 PM.