After an up and down week, the softball team trounced Husson College 8-0 and 10-1 on Sunday for its first doubleheader sweep of the season. The team was coming off a 13-2 loss to Trinity College on Sunday and a doubleheader split with St. Joseph's College of Maine on Saturday. The 3-2 weekend brought the team's record to 11-12, one game away from its goal of a .500 record.The Judges started swinging early in the first game versus Husson, opening the first inning with four home runs. A three-run home run by catcher Christina McWilliams '07, followed by another run in the third, were all the Judges needed to put the game away. Husson struggled at the plate throughout the first game as pitcher Natalie Volpe '08 allowed just two hits in the shutout. Volpe's performance along with Brandeis' play at the plate gave the Judges an easy win in the first game.

"She's one of our top pitchers and she's just been doing amazing," captain Elissa Glucksman '06 said of Volpe.

In the first game, all but one Brandeis player failed to record a hit. Third baseman and captain Brianne Smith '06 went 2-3 with an RBI double in the first inning. In addition to her shutout, Volpe also knocked in a three-run homer in the first.

In the second game, the Judges allowed Husson one run early but quickly shut down the Eagles with a six-run first inning, sending 11 batters to the plate. After just one more inning and three more homers, Brandeis downed the Eagles early according to the eight-run mercy rule.

Pitcher Kaitlin Streilein '08 tallied the second victory, striking out seven batters and allowing eight hits and no walks. McWilliams was 2-2 in the second game with an RBI, while Volpe went 2-2 with two RBI and two scored runs.

"We just had a lot of timely hitting," captain Mari Levine '06 said. "To actually win both games of a doubleheader is big. It helps our record, it helps our confidence and it shows we can hit the ball."

Streilein tallied the only multi-hit day against Trinity on Saturday, going 2-2 with an RBI and a run scored. The Judges' defensive struggles coupled with powerful hitting from Trinity allowed the visitors to unleash an offensive barrage. After leading 2-1 in the first inning, the Judges did not get a runner past second for the remainder of the game.

"Trinity was a really good team, they just hit the shit out of the ball," Levine said. "We had a few defensive lapses that caused us not to get outs and it's really important to get outs against such good teams with good hitters."

Before falling to Trinity, the Judges faced St. Jospeh's College of Maine in a doubleheader. The contest marked the Judges' third consecutive doubleheader split of the season.

The team battled through four scoreless innings in the first game until Levine's double in the fourth inning broke open the scoring and propelled the Judges to a 4-0 victory.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Judges scored early on a Glucksman solo homerun but gave up two runs in the seventh and dropped the contest 2-1.

Volpe was credited with the loss after pitching 6 and 2/3 innings.

"We were winning, but we only scored one run and we ended up losing," Glucksman said. "We need our bats to support our strong pitching."

Despite the tough week, the first doubleheader sweep of the seasonhas given the Judges a much needed boost.

"We've been having trouble hitting well in all seven innings," Glucksman said. "In both of the games [against Husson] we kept our bats going and we kept runners on base. It's a big step in the right direction for us."

At 11-12, team members said that they recognize the improvements they have made and look forward to continued improvement.

"It's just a matter of keeping our composure," Glucksman said. "Everyone knows their job and their role and they know when they need to step it up."

The Judges will next test that composure when they host Fitchburg State College today at 4 p.m.

Editor's Note: Mari Levine '06 is a senior writer for the Justice.