Last week, the women's softball team traveled to Florida for the week-long University Athletic Association Championships, ultimately producing a mix of wins and losses. The Judges, however, left the Sunshine State with a statement win, edging the No. 9 Emory University Eagles in a wild 12-11 walk-off victory for the first time in the history of their rivalry.

The team began the week with a 2-0 win against Washington University in St. Louis and followed that victory with 10-6 and 14-6 losses against the University of Rochester and Emory, respectively, on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday the Judges began the second half of the tournament with another 12-11 win, this time over Case Western Reserve University.

Although the team struggled in the beginning of the week, the Judges closed out their conference slate of games on Saturday afternoon in an exciting fashion.

The win over Emory put an end to the Eagles' 30-game winning streak in the rivalry.

Coach Jessica Johnson attributed the team's win to the confidence they maintained throughout the course of the game.

"I think more than anything [the team] realized that we were playing as the stronger team in the game and they went back to that," she said.

"We were confident in the ability to score runs. After we got up to eight runs we were playing tight like a one-run game."

The Judges got off to a fast start in the first four innings, scoring 10 runs on 10 hits.

Center fielder Amanda Genovese '15 opened the game with a single and came around to score on a single from catcher Madison Gagnon '16 just one batter later.

Genovese struck again in the bottom of the third with a two-run triple, extending the lead to 5-2. Second baseman Anya Kamber '15 stretched the lead to 8-2 after doubling in a run in the fourth inning. Third baseman Madison Sullivan '16 hit a two-run homer, her first of the season, to bring Brandeis' run total up to 10.

The Eagles, however, fought back with nine runs in the fourthand fifth innings combined, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of Emory freshman infielder Hannah Sendel. After Brandeis tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, Kamber stole second in the seventh inning, setting up the potential walk-off hit.

Right fielder Danielle Novotny '16 came up with the big hit, a walk-off double down the right-field line. The double brought in pinch runner Leah Shapiro '17 to clinch the victory.

The 19th-ranked Bears kicked off Friday's game with two runs in the first inning. The Judges responded in force in the bottom of the inning. Gagnon struck a home run to center field, her first of the season. Kamber, playing right field, hit a two-run, two-out home run to keep the momentum and hand Brandeis a 3-2 lead.

After the Bears tacked on six runs in the third inning, the Judges found it difficult to play catch-up, trading runs in the sixth inning.

Novotny turned in an RBI single in the sixth inning to cut the lead to 9-5, but the Judges could not get any closer than that.

Starting pitcher Nikki Cote '15 gave up five earned runs in the game while the pair of Melissa Soleimani '17 and Emma Krulick '17 allowed two runs- one earned-in four innings of relief.

"Honestly, each and every player had a critical contribution at some point throughout the week," Johnson said. "Whether it was timely or big hits, highlight-reel type catches or plays, key baserunning read or slides, every one of our active players did something to help us be successful."

In the second game of Friday's doubleheader, the team dropped an 8-4 loss to Rochester. First baseman Melissa Nolan '14 had the team's only RBI on a seventh-inning home run to right field.

Thursday's win over Case took 10 innings, but at the end of the game, featured 31 hits between the two teams. The Judges were led by Sullivan, who went three-for-four from the plate with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Novotny had a team-high four RBIs on a third-inning grand slam.

Johnson maintained that even with the 3-5 record over the tournament, the week was nonetheless a positive one. She noted that the team beat every UAA opponent at least once except for Rochester.

"[The week was] up and down and not as consistent as we would have liked," she said.

"It was a positive week; it set the tone for the season. We need to bring our A game constantly and work on all three aspects of the game."

The Judges will try to continue their success on Saturday in a doubleheader at Clark University.