The baseball team will only go as far as its best pitchers can carry it. Judges' ace Tim Dunphy '06 proved that much is true in Sunday's doubleheader sweep of Trinity College, shutting out the Bantams 2-0 in the first game and then recording his first career save in the team's 4-1 afternoon victory. With a young bullpen, the Judges' performance this season, which has included several upswings and downswings, has often been determined by the ability of their starting pitchers.

Strong starting pitching was instrumental in the Judges' superb play earlier this month, lifting them as high as No. 7 in New England after a 13-7 win over Western New England College, the top team in the region on April 13. That landmark win came on the heels of a seven- game unbeaten streak in which the team's starting pitchers went a combined 5-0.

However, as the durability of those pitchers was tested later in April, the Judges' starters found difficulty finishing off games and the team dropped four in a row.

The Judges snapped their losing streak with a 12-3 victory over Becker College Thursday. After losses to Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts-Boston earlier last week, their record now stands at 21-13, excluding a game that was called a tie because of rain.

In the first game of the Judges doubleheader against Trinity Sunday, Chris Navis '06 delivered the winning hit, driving in Chuck Sheehan '08 and Phil Aurigemma '06 with a two-out triple in the top of the seventh inning.

"I didn't get that great of a piece of the ball, but it just went up the middle and fell in," Navis said.

Dunphy closed the game nicely, striking out Bantams' sophomore shortstop Thomas DiBenedetto to end the game in the bottom of the seventh. Dunphy allowed seven hits and did not issue a walk in going the distance for the Judges.

In the second game Sunday, Dunphy was called upon to fill a a different but important role for the Judges. When reliever James Collins '09 allowed two base-runners to reach in the bottom of the seventh inning with Brandeis leading 4-1, Dunphy was called in to face the tying run at the plate, Trinity senior first baseman Erik Paisley. Dunphy recorded the final out of the game on a groundout by Paisley, giving him the first save of his career.

On Thursday, the team got a much-needed boost from a younger pitcher to snap its four-game skid with a 12-4 win at Becker College. Rocco Toppi '08, who began the season as a reliever, looked comfortable in the starting role, allowing three earned runs in seven innings during just his second start of the season.

"[Toppi] has pitched really well for us this year," Navis said. "He just comes on and throws strikes, and lets the team behind him make the plays."

The Judges' pitching took a sudden hit late against the University of Massachusetts-Boston, as Robinson's inability to finish off his start eventually opened the floodgates for UMass-Boston. Robinson seemed to be cruising through seven innings, tallying 10 strikeouts and allowing just one earned run. In the eighth however, Robinson allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base.

Afterwards, reliever James Collins '09 added to the catastrophe when he came in and hit the first batter he faced. With all said and done, the Beacons exploded for a seven-hit, eight-run inning to down the Judges 10-3.

The Judges' final week of the regular season begins at Endicott College in Beverly on Tuesday at 4 p.m.