The baseball team squared off in yet another pair of doubleheaders, and they managed managed to split the four games.

With their 3-0 loss last Saturday against Springfield College, the Judges ran their record to 2-3 for the week and 10-19 overall.

In the second game of Saturday's second doubleheader, the Judges fell behind early, as Springfield sophomore left fielder Brent Poulin put the Pride on the scoreboard with an RBI double in the first inning. Springfield quickly tacked on two more runs to stretch the lead to three runs.

Although Brandeis starting pitcher Mike Swerdloff '13 pitched a complete game and allowed only two earned runs, the Judges' hitters remained silent, tallying only two hits. Swerdloff took the loss, falling to 2-5 on the year.

It was a different story for the Judges in the first game of the day, as they came away with the 4-3 victory. However, the game did not start in favorable fashion, as Brandeis was in the hole once more, ceding two quick runs to Springfield in the top of the first inning. This time, the Judges responded immediately, scoring one run of their own off a RBI double from first baseman Dan Gad '14. Though the Pride added another run in the fifth, the Judges added three more runs to take the lead for good.

Kyle Brenner '15, who improved to 2-5 on the year with the outing, was pleased with his performance.

"I felt pretty good," Brenner said. "I left a changeup high in the zone that cost me two runs in the first. After that I stayed low and [catcher Chris Ferro '13] called a real good game behind the plate."

Yet, Thursday provided a much different contest. The Judges committed five errors in an 8-1 loss against Roger Williams University. The Judges took the lead in the fourth inning when Brenner's fielder's choice scored Ferro from third. Starting pitcher Dylan Britton '13 cruised, having only allowed one hit, until the seventh inning. The Judges made two errors that led to three unearned runs for the Hawks. Roger Williams took advantage of another Judges error in the eighth inning to add five more runs, which were all unearned.

In the second game of a doubleheader last Tuesday, the Judges fell to Johnson & Wales University by a score of 6-3. The Judges scored an unearned run in the first inning when Brenner's single up the middle scored left fielder Nick Cortese '13 to give the Judges an early advantage and momentum going forward in the game.

The Wildcats took the lead in the second, when senior designated hitter Pete Rosa hit a two-run home run. Johnson and Wales added four more insurance runs in the fifth, which was enough to win the game. The Judges used a total of four pitchers in this seven-inning game.

In the first contest, Brenner tossed a complete game, allowing five hits and tallying five strikeouts to lead Brandeis to the 5-0 victory, their first shutout of the season.

The Judges struck immediately, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first off RBI hits from Gad and second baseman Tom McCarthy '15. The Judges played small ball in the second inning, as a bunt by shortstop Brian Allen '15 advanced third baseman Dominic Schwartz '14 to second base. Schwartz scored off an RBI single hit by Cortese two batters later. The Judges were aggressive on the base paths in the fifth inning, leading to yet another insurance run. After Cortese hit a single, he then stole second and third base. Brenner then knocked him in with an RBI single to put the game out of reach.

In addition to battling opponents on the field, the Judges have been battling themselves. A recent theme throughout the past few weeks has been inconsistency, as they have yet to put together a win streak of more than two games this season, going 5-8 in April.

McCarthy explained the how important it is for the Judges to play consistently, especially as the season winds down.
"When you play consistently, you have the opportunity to go on a run, win a few in a row." McCarthy said.

"You don't want to be losing games this late in the season when you don't really have much of a chance to improve [your record]," he said.

The Judges will look to gain some key wins down the stretch with their game tomorrow at Bowdoin College at 4:00 p.m.
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