After giving up eight runs in the seventh inning in an 11-2 loss to Amherst College on Tuesday, the Brandeis baseball team suffered the same fate in Friday's 13-7 loss to Suffolk University. The Judges also lost 4-3 on Thursday to Endicott College in 11 innings and now stand at 9-21 on the season."It's pretty frustrating," second baseman/right fielder John O'Brion '10 said of the team's tendency to give up big innings to the opposing team. "It seems like it's been happening quite a bit this year. We're playing well for most of the game, and it's almost like a little bit of bad luck."

Brandeis got out to an early lead against Suffolk in the first inning, as center fielder Tony Deshler '11 led off the game with his second home run of the season. The Judges then scored twice more in the inning thanks to two Rams errors to take a 3-0 lead.

Suffolk, however, came right back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to pull within one and tied the game in the bottom of the third inning.

The Judges then retook the lead in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI fielder's choice from left fielder Chris Ferro '13 and an RBI single from first baseman Eric Rosenberg '11. These moves put Brandeis up 5-3 before the Rams once again pulled within a run in the bottom of the inning.

After a home run from third baseman Jon Chu '12 in the top of the seventh put the Judges up 6-4, Suffolk sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs on seven hits, all with two outs.

Brandeis starting pitcher Drew Brzozowski '10 gave up six straight hits and four runs after getting the first two outs of the inning, prompting head coach Pete Varney to replace him with right-handed reliever Kyle Ritchie '10. Ritchie walked the first batter he faced to load the bases before hitting the next two batters to bring home two more runs for the Rams.

Ritchie then gave up a two-run double before being pulled for rookie left-hander Jesse Link '13, who was able to end the inning.

The Judges got one unearned run in the eighth inning, but then Suffolk added one of their own in the bottom of the frame to secure the 13-7 win.

On Wednesday, the Judges again got out to the quick advantage when a sacrifice fly from Rosenberg scored Chu. Endicott scored twice in the bottom of the frame to take its first lead of the game, aided by an error from Rosenberg that scored a run.

The game remained tied until the sixth inning, when the Judges loaded the bases with two outs. A walk from shortstop Sean O'Hare '12 tied the game 1-1, but the Judges were unable to score again in the inning.

Brandeis briefly got the lead back in the seventh inning on an RBI single from Chu, but Endicott came back in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game.

The Gulls, however, walked off with the win in the bottom of the eleventh inning on a one-out RBI single from rookie third baseman Joe Kasabuski off Brandeis relief pitcher Mike Swerdloff '13, wasting a strong outing from starting pitcher John McGrath '11.

"It seems like one game we'll have a strong pitching performance, but we won't be able to score, and the next game we'll score a bunch but our pitching will struggle a little bit, so it's just aggravating that we can't really gel together as a team," O'Brion said.

On Tuesday at home against Amherst, the Judges once again took a lead going into the seventh inning before giving up eight runs. Brandeis was up 2-1 after a home run from second baseman James Likis '10 and an RBI single from Rosenberg in the fourth inning. Left-hander Alex Tynan '12, who replaced starting pitcher Dylan Britton '13 in the seventh inning, gave up a walk and two hits, including a two-run double, before recording his first out. Tynan, along with relievers Andrew Weissenberg '13, Stephen Weiss '13 and Nick Pollack '10 combined to give up seven hits, two walks and a hit batter as Amherst pulled away. For good measure, Amhrest added two more runs in the eighth inning off of Link.

The Judges hope to bounce back with two straight games at home today versus University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth at 3:30 p.m. and tomorrow against Bowdoin College at 4 p.m. They then wrap up the season with three straight road games at Keene State College Thursday at 3:30, Wheaton College Saturday at 1 p.m. and at University of Massachussetts at Dartmouth on Sunday at 1 p.m.