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The Judges baseball team lost their first game of the season against Warner University of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 5-3 on Monday Feb. 17. The Royals left the game 8-4, but they have since dropped to 8-8.
The Judges fared better in their second game of the season, winning 12-2 against Johnson University, formerly Florida Christian College, on Feb. 18 in Central Florida. Johnson is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Judges scored runs in each of the first four innings to lead 7-0, putting the game out of reach for the Suns. The Judges’ dozen runs came on 19 hits and seven walks, hitting .431 as a team.

Leadoff hitter Liam O’Connor ’16 and cleanup batter Greg Heineman ’16 led the team, each going three for four with a run and an RBI. Heineman doubled in the team’s four-run third inning and walked twice in the game, following the previous game in which he had three walks. Rob Trenk ’15, Tom McCarthy ’15 and Brian Ing ’14 each added two hits. Trenk and McCarthy had two RBIs and a run apiece. Max Hart ’16 was two for five with two runs and a double. Kyle Brenner ’15 pinch hit for Dan Gad ’14 in the seventh and hit a two RBI double in the eighth, scoring a run himself three batters later. Brian Allen ’15 had two RBIs as well with a single in the third and sac fly in the fourth.

On the defensive side, Brandeis was stellar, turning five double plays, four of which ended an inning. Brent Edmunds ’15 got the win with five innings on the mound allowing two earned runs on seven hits, recovering from missteps by forcing four double plays. Ryan Healy ’16, James Machado ’16, Colin Markel ’14 and Ing finished the final four innings without allowing a hit. The quartet put on six base runners through walks and a hit batter, but only one Sun’s player was able to make it to third.

Johnson’s Dustin Lawson was two for three with a double. Both of their runs came off a swing that resulted in a Chase Hunt pinch-hit single. Anthony Bladrich was saddled with his second loss of the season after allowing two earned runs in the first two innings. Located in Florida, the Sun’s baseball season has been under way since late January. They left the game 2-10.

The Judges began the Russ Matt Tournament with a 5-0 shutout of SUNY Maritime College, Brandeis’ first NCAA opponent of the year. This was the Privateers first game of the season. Brandeis set the tone early in the game, scoring a run in the first inning after their first two batters were unable to reach base. They followed this up with a second inning in which the first three batters reached base, allowing O’Connor to get an RBI groundout to bring home Ing. Later in the game, the Privateers’ carelessness cost them as Connor Doyle ’16 scored on a dropped third strike in the sixth inning after advancing to third on a wild pitch and two more wild pitches the following inning allowed Ryan Tettemer ’17 to score after pinch-running for Gad. Maritime had an opportunity in the fourth with runners on second and third but the team’s cleanup hitter Paul Woodburn was picked off at second base, ending the half-inning.

As with any shutout, the team was led by Brenner on the mound, recording a career-high 13 strikeouts in a 112-pitch complete game. The last Brandeisian to record as many strikeouts in a game was Tyler Robinson ’08 in 2007. Brenner allowed only six hits and two walks. His success did not deteriorate during the game as he struck out the side in the eighth and did not allow a hit in the final three innings. This is Brenner’s eighth career complete game, sixth shutout and first win of the season.

Heineman and Hart each had two hits, with Hart recording the game’s only extra base hit on a triple in the fourth. Hart was unable to score after the triple as the following two batters struck out. Woodburn was the only Privateer able to reach base more than once, reaching on two hits and a walk. Kurt Niemeyer received the loss in five and a third innings on six hits, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. SUNY Maritime left the Russ Matt Tournament 0-4.

The Judges extended their two game winning streak against St. Joseph’s College of Brooklyn in the second game of the tournament with a 10-6 victory. Brandeis started the game’s offense in the second inning after Heineman began with a walk and was driven in by a double by Ing. Doyle would score during the next at-bat on a sac fly after reaching the bases on a dropped fly and advancing to second on a throwing error. The Bears would come back to take the lead in the fourth, scoring three runs. The first four batters of the inning got hits, putting ahead two early runs in the frame. Brandeis would take the final lead in the sixth. St. Joseph’s got the first two batters out but the walk of Mike Musto ’17 opened up the offense. Heineman brought Musto home with a triple and scored on a McCarthy single. McCarthy then scored after a Doyle single and a two RBI double by Ing to lead 6-3. The team added three runs in the following inning on three hits and another run in the eighth as Ing was driven in by Hart after reaching base on a triple. The Bears scored three unearned runs in the final inning that included a walk, balk, two errors and hits batsmen.

Elio Fernandez ’15 earned his first win of the season with a career-long 7 2/3 on the mound. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits, striking out six and not allowing a single walk. Besides St. Joseph’s offensive explosion in the fourth, Fernandez and the Judges defense did not allow a runner past second base. Freshmen Liam Coughlin ’17 and Justin Freeman ’17 finished the game allowing no hits in the final one and a third, despite allowing three unearned runs.

Ing was three for four with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and a run. Heineman had two extra base hits, two RBIs and scored three times. Trenk and McCarthy each knocked in two hits as well. McCarthy had three RBIs and Hart had two sacrifices to drive players home. Doyle scored twice. The Bears’ Thomas McKenna was two for five with a run and RBI. Chris Cutrone left with the loss allowing eight hits and eight earned runs over six and two thirds. The Bears left Florida 1-4.

The Judges defeated Capital University on Feb. 22 2-1 but lost the following day to Hanover College 11-2. The win over Capital featured stellar performances on the mound by Ing and Anthony Nomakeo ’17. The team is off until Mar. 9 when they begin the eight-game UAA Championship against Case Western Reserve University.