In another up and down week of baseball, the Judges managed to counter a discouraging start with a strong finish. Brandeis swept a doubleheader at Roger Williams University last Saturday to salvage what had began as a rocky week. The Judges started the week with home losses to Tufts University on Tuesday and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wednesday. Brandeis bounced back last Thursday with an 8-6 comeback win at Bentley College, but took another step backward the next day with an 8-4 loss at Bridgewater State College. The Judges' are 16-11 after an 8-6 home win over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Monday that ended too late for extensive coverage.

The Judges' hitting powered them in both victories over the Hawks. The first game opened with each team scoring a run in the first inning. The rest of the game was a Brandeis rout, as the Judges scored five unanswered runs en route to a 9-1 victory. Bryan Lambert '05 had three hits including a home run. Shortstop Zach Golden '06 hit a pair of doubles in three at-bats.

The nightcap looked bleaker for Brandeis early on, as Roger Williams took a 4-2 lead into the top of the sixth inning. But the Judges' bats sprung back to life as they piled on seven runs in the last two innings for a 9-4 win. Lambert singled in the sixth inning to send home B.J. Belair '05 for the go-ahead run.

"Having [Lambert] step in as a guy to provide us with power in the lineup has really been a great addition for our team," Aaron Landes '05 said.

Brandeis fell behind early at Bridgewater State on Saturday and never recovered. The Judges allowed four runs to the Bears in the bottom of the first inning and didn't pose a threat until the fourth inning when Chris Navis '05 led off with a triple. Brandeis cut the deficit to one run, but the Bears regained control at the plate, scoring on a wild pitch and a two-out single in the fifth inning.

The Judges' highlight of the week was their stirring comeback at Bentley last Thursday. Brandeis trailed 4-1 after three innings before Lambert tied the game with a three-run home run to left field, the third of his career.

The Judges loaded the bases with only one out in the ninth inning, but Scott Kuhen '06 was thrown out at home plate on a grounder to shortstop. Belair came through in the next at-bat with a double to give Brandeis a two-run lead.

"The whole year, we have proven that we can [hold onto leads]," Landes said. "This game showed us that we can also come back."

Still, the team failed to overcome early deficits in other games last week. The WPI Engineers jumped out to a six-run lead in first inning last Wednesday. All six runs were unearned as the Engineers had seven consecutive hits in the inning.

"It makes it much harder when we fall behind," Belair said. "We are a balanced offensive team, but we don't really have any hitters that will consistently hit home runs every time."

The Judges managed only six hits against six Tufts pitchers last Tuesday. Four Jumbos batters had multiple hits. The Judges were plagued by a large early deficit, as Tufts scored five runs off pitcher Craig Letendre '08 in the first three innings.

"Right now, we are in the middle of the pack, and we need to put pressure on ourselves to get better and finish strong," Belair said. "I think we can beat anybody, we just need to play to our potential."

The Judges visit Bowdoin College today at 3:30 p.m.