With the baseball team clinging to a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth last Saturday, rookie reliever Pat Nicholson '11 faced a bases-loaded situation with two outs. In just his second save situation of his collegiate career, Nicholson extinguished the comeback attempt, striking out sophomore left fielder Tom Ladore with the count at two balls and two strikes. "You have to focus on one goal-get the batter out and just take it from there," Nicholson said. "[Catcher Artie Posch '10] called an outside fastball, and I was just looking to get the ball a little bit off the plate and make sure that [Ladore] couldn't get a base hit off it."

Nicholson then sent UMass-Dartmouth down in order in the bottom of the ninth, earning his second save and preserving the Judges' 9-8 win. They are now 7-4 this season, including an 11-7 victory at Salve Regina University last Thursday and an 8-1 loss to Wheaton College last Tuesday. Last Friday's home game against Albertus Magnus College was postponed with no makeup date presently scheduled.

After the Judges scored three runs on 11 total hits in losses to Salem State College last Tuesday and Wheaton last Wednesday, they exploded for 20 runs and 23 hits combined against Salve Regina and UMass-Dartmouth.

"I think the difference in the last two games compared to the first two games [last week] was that guys are just swinging the bat," assistant coach Bryan Lambert '05 said. "In the first two games too many guys were taking too many pitches that they probably should have swung at."

UMass-Dartmouth erased a 4-1 deficit and led 5-4 after five innings, but aided by designated hitter Nick Gallagher's '09 two RBIs, the Judges scored the next five runs to take a 9-5 lead after the eighth inning. With the count at zero balls and two strikes with two outs and runners on second and third base in the top of the eighth inning, Gallagher's line drive ricocheted off the pitcher and trickled between the pitcher's mound, first base and second base, allowing Gallagher to reach safely and shortstop Malcolm Cone-Coleman '08 and Nicholson to score. Left fielder David Almeida '09 then reached base on an error, and Gallagher came around to score to provide the 9-5 margin.

"If you can score with two outs then you have a really good chance to win," Gallagher said. "I went up [to the plate] knowing I had a chance to drive a couple of guys in with two outs and being that it was a one-run game, those were two big insurance runs."

UMass-Dartmouth answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning before Nicholson retired the final batter of the inning with the bases loaded.

Nicholson, who started the game at third base before taking over as a reliever in the eighth inning, led the way with four hits offensively, while infielder Drake Livada '10 and Gallagher chipped in with two RBIs each. Rocco Toppi '08 struck out three UMass-Dartmouth hitters in two innings of relief work to earn his second win of the season.

The bullpen also played a key role in the 11-7 win over Salve Regina. The Seahawks had cut Brandeis' lead to 8-7 with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when pitcher Tyler Robinson '08, came on in relief. He loaded the bases after hitting the first batter he faced, but bounced back with two strikeouts to end the threat.

"Those were two big outs for us to get. [Posch] and I worked well together to get those ones," Robinson said. "I think it picked everyone up and got everyone going again."

Despite going hitless in the top of the eighth inning, Brandeis still tallied three runs, scoring on a sacrifice fly, a balk and a passed ball for the final margin.

While the offense improved after having struggled early last week, Gallagher was most impressed with the bullpen's performance under pressure.

"To be able to hand the ball to some of those guys that are back there in the [late innings]-it's a boost for our whole team just to know we have so many quality arms that can come in late and really stop the bleeding and shut the other team down," Gallagher said.

The team goes on the road to face the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., Babson College Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., Fitchburg State College Thursday at 3:30 p.m., and Springfield College Saturday at 1 p.m.