The baseball team's fortunes changed as dramatically as the Waltham spring weather last week.With the weather warm in the middle of the week, the Judges snapped off three wins, including a doubleheader sweep and a walk-off win but bookended those wins with two losses, one on a cold day against Wentworth Institute of Technology last Thursday and one in a blowout against No. 6 Wheaton College (Mass.) last Sunday on the day of a large rainstorm.

The Judges went 3-2 last week, losing to Wheaton 19-2 last Sunday, defeating Springfield 6-2 and 5-3 last Saturday, winning 7-6 in the final inning against Salve Regina University last Thursday and falling 6-3 to Wentworth last Wednesday. The team is now 10-10 on the season.

Last Sunday, Wheaton scored all 19 runs in the first three innings as the Judges made six errors. Wheaton's win was its 16th in a row as the Lyons enjoy their best start in program history.

Pitcher John McGrath '11 took the loss in his first career start, lasting only through the first inning. Wheaton scored six runs, four of them earned, in that first inning on the strength of five hits and two Brandeis errors. Justin Duncombe '11 relieved McGrath but surrendered seven runs in the second inning and six more in the third as the score ballooned to 19-0, with seven of the 19 runs being unearned. Third baseman Jon Chu '12, shortstop Sean O'Hare '12 and second baseman Julien Cavin '12, all rookies, combined to make five of the team's six errors.

"[Our effort] was just ugly," captain Mike Alfego '09 said. "They came out of the gate and put it on us. We made a ton of errors and didn't hit the ball. You can't give any team extra outs, [especially] one of the top ranked teams in the country."

The loss to Wheaton was a stark contrast to the Judges' performance earlier in the week. They entered last Sunday's game on a three-game winning streak led by the performances of the three rookie infielders, who combined to hit .391 and drive in eight runs over the three-game span.

"[The rookie infielders] are starting to come around and starting to mature on the field," assistant coach Brian Lambert '97 said.

After falling to Wentworth 6-3 at home last Wednesday, Brandeis started its winning streak against Salve Regina last Thursday. The Judges were able to keep the game within reach throughout, setting the stage for another Judges victory decided in the ninth inning, the third such instance this season. This time, first baseman and pitcher Pat Nicholson '11 delivered.

The Judges had just tied the game at six in the bottom of the ninth inning when Nicholson stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and two outs in the inning. Nicholson ripped a single through the left side to score first baseman Drake Livada '10 -- who had tied the game with an RBI single of his own-from second base.

Brandeis had chipped away at an early 5-2 deficit to bring the score to 5-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. The Judges then tied the game at five when pinch hitter Eric Rosenberg '11 delivered an RBI single through the right side to score catcher Zach Wooley '11, who hit a single and reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Nicholson.

But Salve Regina took a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth inning when an error by O'Hare allowed rookie Gabriel Constantino to score from second base. Nicholson, who relieved James Collins '09, allowed no more runs in the inning, setting the stage for Brandeis' comeback.

"[The win] was huge, actually," Nicholson said. "It wasn't the prettiest, but it was huge for momentum heading into the weekend."

The Judges fed off that success, taking both games of a doubleheader against Springfield College last Saturday, winning 6-2 in the first game and 5-3 in the second.

Nicholson was Brandeis' starting pitcher in the first game and held Springfield to only two runs on five hits while striking out four. He pitched a complete game, improving his record to 4-1 on the season.

"I worked to establish my fastball early on, so when they started adjusting, I started mixing in more sliders. The slider was working well today, and that kept them off-balance," he said.

Offensively, the Judges' rookies carried the team as Chu and O'Hare each went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

In the second game, pitcher Drew Brzozowski '10 turned in a complete game, allowing only four hits and three runs, while striking out eight over the course of the seven inning contest.

The Judges are next in action at home today against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 3:30 p.m. They will then host Fitchburg State University Thursday at 3 p.m., Clark University Saturday at noon and Keene State College Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Judges are 5-1 in home games this season.