Recent wet weather finally subsided long enough for the Brandeis softball team to host five home games. After seeing their first four home games postponed, the Judges took the field this week, but lost four out of five games. With two losses to Bates College last Friday, a loss to Simmons College last Thursday and a split doubleheader against Worcester State College last Wednesday, the Judges dropped to 2-11 for the season. The Judges hosted MIT yesterday in a game that ended too late for this edition.

Late-inning errors cost the Judges both games of the doubleheader against Bates last Friday. In the first game, a 4-3 loss, all of Bates' runs were unearned.

"The majority of the mistakes are not on fielding errors as much as on throwing errors," left fielder Marissa Rubin '07 said. "We're coming together as a team, we're just not getting it done at the plate and you can't win games if you don't score runs."

The Judges led into the sixth inning in the second game against Bates, but the Bobcats pulled ahead en route to their 5-4 victory when Brandeis third baseman Elissa Glucksman '06 made an errant throw to first.

"We are really playing great," Christina McWilliams '07 said. "I know it's hard to believe if you look at our record, but we just get really unlucky. The few errors that we have made ended up being fatal."

The Judges' sub-par fielding during the Bates doubleheader was a repeat of their performance in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Simmons last Thursday. Simmons' center fielder Amy Steinnagel scored the only run of the game while stealing second base. Brandeis catcher Mari Levine's '06 wild throw past second base gave Steinnagel an easy path home.

Levine's error spoiled a fine pitching performance by Natalie Volpe '08, who struck out a career-high seven batters in seven innings. Volpe also went 2-3 at the plate to be Brandeis' only batter with multiple hits.

The Judges' only victory last week came during their home opening series, as they spilt a doubleheader against Worcester State College.

Brandeis took the nightcap 5-0 after being shut out 7-0 in the first game. Kaitlin Strielein '08 earned her first career victory in the second game.

Although the Judges have only won two of their 13 games, the players strongly maintain that the team is confident of future success.

"Since Florida, we've really come together as a team," Danielle Mayer '08 said. "Our offense and defense has turned around 100 percent. Everyone on the team, including the coaches, felt that we should have won at least four out of five of the games, because they were all won by one or two unearned runs that were scored by basic fielding [and] throwing errors."

The Judges have a full schedule and play nine games in a row starting with a home game against Fitchburg State College today at 4 p.m.

"All we need to do is hit," Rubin said. "We're a real good defensive team, but we need to make hits."

Editors' Note: Mari Levine '06 is a staff writer for the Justice.