The Brandeis Baseball team has had a rocky start to their season so far. With only one victory since their season began on March 5, the Judges have a long way to go if they want to reach the playoffs.

The season began for the Judges on Monday, March 5, at the University of Massachusetts - Boston. The Judges lost 4-1 to the third-ranked team leaving them 0-1 to begin the season. Sean O’Neill ’18 started the game allowing three runs on five hits in the first inning alone. Greg Tobin’20 relieved him for the last five innings, allowing a run on two hits while striking out four. The Judges lone run came at the top of the fourth inning off an RBI double from Dan Frey ’21, but he was left stranded on second

The Judges then dropped to 0-2 on the year after a 7-4 loss at the hands of Salem State University. 

Viking starting pitcher Stephen Keskinidis pitched four scoreless innings. RBIs came from Frey, Victor Oppenheimer ’20, Isaac Fossas ‘21 and Alex Parrott ’21.

The team then split a double header with Bowdoin College. The first game left the Judges victorious over the Polar Bears with a 8-3 victory. Unfortunately, they fell in the second game with a 12-9 loss. These games left  the Judges 1-3 for the season. 

In the first game, the Judges seized the lead very early on, scoring five runs in the first two innings. Fossass proved to be a force to be reckoned with as he started the game with a two-out double that brought Darron Bates ’21 and Mike Khoury ’21 home. Luke Hall ‘21 helped in the second inning with a ground-rule double, later scoring with classmate Scott Zeigler’s single. Oppenheimer would later score a fifth run for the Judges before Khory sent a ball over the fence, breaking the game open.

Other plays would make this game a success for the Judges. Pitcher Mason Newman ’21 only allowed two hits and one walk for the Polar Bears in the over 4.2 innings he played in and was able to strike out seven players in the process.

The second game against the Polar Bears was a struggle for the Judges as Bowdoin scored six runs in the first inning. The Judges would put up a fight, though, as they loaded the bases with no outs in the first, scoring three of their own. The Judges would eventually carry a 7-6 lead at the bottom of the fourth inning. The Polar Bears responded, and despite the fight the Judges put up, they were ultimately not able to pull out a victory.

On Sunday March 11, the Judges suffered two defeats against Western New England University with  4-12 and 3-7 losses. The first game was marked by the Golden Bears improving offensively and dominating the competition late in the game. Oppenheimer quickly started out the game in favor of the Judges with two home runs in the first inning, giving them a 2-0 lead.  However, Western New England responded rather quickly with two runs at the top of the second. 

In the fourth inning, the Golden Bears made the lead that they would fight to maintain during the rest of the game. At the bottom of the fourth inning, the gap would close to 5-4, but the Judges would never pull out the desired win that they were after.

During the second game of the day against Western Massachusetts, the eight innings would be out of the Judges’ favor. Western New England began scoring quickly and at the top of the first inning held a 1-0 lead. In the second inning, Brandeis would tie up the game, but immediately the Golden Bears would regain the lead in the third inning. The rest of the game was full of back-and-forth action as both teams scored and were strong during their respective parts of the innings. However, in the end, the Judges would suffer another blow.

While these early-season losses do sting, The Judges are a very young team with a talented rookie class that has the ability to make some noise down the line. Once the team knocks the early season rust off, and the pitching works out a few kinks, the Judges should have a very high ceiling and look to improve the reputation of the Brandeis baseball program.