Although the softball team entered the season-opening University Athletic Association Championship tournament with a new head coach, they still ended up with the same result as last season. After giving up 11 first-inning runs in a 12-3 loss to Case Western Reserve University Saturday, the Judges finished with a 2-6 record in Altamonte Springs, Fla. under new head coach Jessica Johnson, the same mark they posted in this tournament one year ago under then-coach Mary Sullivan, who was fired last August. The team tied with Case Western for last place in the tournament, which was won by the University of Rochester.

"We hit a low over the last couple of days," Johnson said. "We ran out of stamina and didn't quite ever recover."

The eight-game run began with two losses in a season-opening doubleheader Tuesday, 6-1 to 15th-ranked Emory University and 6-5 to third-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. After the Judges recovered in the middle of the week with a 5-2 win Wednesday against the University of Rochester and a 5-1 triumph over Case Western, they went on to drop their final four games of the tournament, culminating in Saturday's blowout loss.

The Judges scored all three of their runs in the top of the first inning Saturday, starting with an RBI double by Natalie Volpe '08. Volpe led the UAA with four doubles this week. Brandeis collected its next two runs on a wild pitch by Case Western sophomore Ruth Sagartz.

However, the promise the Judges showed at the top of the inning quickly disintegrated when Case Western's first batter, junior outfielder Lauren Seeds, connected off Allie Mussen '10 for a double. Nine hits and one error later, the team found itself coming out of the first inning in an 11-3 hole.

"It was hard to settle in and put the ball in the umpire's strike zone," Mussen said. "It was difficult to get a call [and] it was hard for me to make my pitches."

But pitching wasn't the only problem for the Judges on their road trip. Lackluster hitting and poor defense also contributed to the team's woes, as the Judges finished last in team hitting, pitching and fielding for the tournament, posting a .245 batting average, a 6.11 ERA and a .931 fielding percentage.

"We weren't hitting the ball [and] we weren't playing very good defense," Johnson said. "The other teams were capitalizing on our mistakes, which we weren't doing to them."

The Judges' veteran pitchers ignited the team's two mid-week victories. In the win over Rochester Wednesday, Brandeis' first victory of the season, Kaitlin Streilein '08 surrendered just three hits in 4.1 innings of work.

The next day, Volpe gave up three hits in four innings of the Judges' triumph over Case Western.

Brandeis also received significant contributions from its rookies in this tournament. Pitcher Emily Vaillette '10 led the team with seven strikeouts and was the only UAA player in the tournament to collect a save.

"[Vaillette] is definitely going to be good for us," Johnson said. "She keeps hitters off-balance, which is a huge advantage for us."

The presence of rookie shortstop Chelsea Korp '10 and catcher Erin Ross '10 in the leadoff and number-eight slots in the batting order, respectively, helped round out the Judges' lineup.

Players said Johnson's coaching style adds a new dimension to the team.

"[Johnson] was very calm and collected out there this week," Streilein said. "She tries to make things happen for [us] instead of waiting around for things to happen."

The women begin their string of New England games in their home-opener against Simmons College Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.