Spring Break
BASEBALL: Squad plays to the level of its competition
by Lauren Ruderman
Sports | 4/17/07
Posted online at 10:20 PM EST on 4/16/07
/ Last updated at 12:41 AM EST on 4/16/07
The baseball team continued its puzzling trend last week of beating difficult opponents and falling to inferior ones. The Judges defeated 15-7 Tufts University, the fourth-ranked team in New England, 9-2 last Tuesday, but fell to 13-14 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 10-2 Wednesday. The team is now 10-9 overall on the season.
Brandeis' three other games that were scheduled for last week, at Western New England College Thursday, at Bridgewater State College Friday and against Keene State College at home Monday, were all postponed or cancelled because of inclement weather.
While the Judges managed to defeat nationally ranked Emory University and Washington University in St. Louis during the season-opening University Athletic Association Championships, they have often overlooked easier opponents, such as WPI.
"We just have problems with the teams we know we should roll over," pitcher Drew Brzozowski '10 said.
"I think against harder teams we know that it will be a hard game, and we step up to the challenge, but against teams like WPI we forget that we have to go out and play the game. It's not a good mentality to have."
Starting pitcher James Collins '09 was hit hard and early against WPI, giving up five runs in three innings.
"[Collins] went out there with the right intentions, [but] they were just hitting him," designated hitter Mike Alfego '09 said.
In the fifth inning against the Engineers, third basemen Drake Livada '10 hit an RBI single for the first Brandeis run, but the Judges' only other score came when Dave Alemeida '09 singled, advanced to second base on a throwing error, took third on a wild pitch and came home on a groundout by pinch-hitter Shane Butland '07 in the seventh.
Both teams struggled in the field, with WPI committing three errors and Brandeis making five. The Engineers scored three unearned runs off the Judges' miscues.
Against Tufts, the Judges headed into the seventh inning down 2-1, but broke out against the Jumbos in that frame, sending 12 men to the plate and scoring seven runs. Second baseman Jeff Bourdon '07 singled in the tying run after a 10-pitch at-bat. In the inning, right fielder Ben Dashefsky '07 contributed a two-run triple, first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 turned in a suicide squeeze bunt single and Bourdon had a two-run double.
"Before [the seventh] inning, assistant coach [Brian] Lambert told us we needed to get it together and everyone needed to start producing," Brzozowski said. "I think that was the major turnaround and everybody got their head in the game, and we were able to put together that huge inning. Hitting is just contagious."
Pitcher Tyler Robinson '08 got the win in relief to improve to 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA on the season. He gave up back-to-back walks in the fifth to allow the go-ahead run, but gave up only one hit in two and two-thirds innings.
The Judges went 3-2 during the April vacation, and Robinson and shortstop Zach Golden '07 were named UAA Athletes of the Week. Golden batted .500 with four walks and a home run during the stretch, while Robinson allowed just one earned run in 10.2 innings on the mound, striking out a career-high 13 batters against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 3.
The Judges visit Bowdoin College today at 4 p.m.
Brandeis' three other games that were scheduled for last week, at Western New England College Thursday, at Bridgewater State College Friday and against Keene State College at home Monday, were all postponed or cancelled because of inclement weather.
While the Judges managed to defeat nationally ranked Emory University and Washington University in St. Louis during the season-opening University Athletic Association Championships, they have often overlooked easier opponents, such as WPI.
"We just have problems with the teams we know we should roll over," pitcher Drew Brzozowski '10 said.
"I think against harder teams we know that it will be a hard game, and we step up to the challenge, but against teams like WPI we forget that we have to go out and play the game. It's not a good mentality to have."
Starting pitcher James Collins '09 was hit hard and early against WPI, giving up five runs in three innings.
"[Collins] went out there with the right intentions, [but] they were just hitting him," designated hitter Mike Alfego '09 said.
In the fifth inning against the Engineers, third basemen Drake Livada '10 hit an RBI single for the first Brandeis run, but the Judges' only other score came when Dave Alemeida '09 singled, advanced to second base on a throwing error, took third on a wild pitch and came home on a groundout by pinch-hitter Shane Butland '07 in the seventh.
Both teams struggled in the field, with WPI committing three errors and Brandeis making five. The Engineers scored three unearned runs off the Judges' miscues.
Against Tufts, the Judges headed into the seventh inning down 2-1, but broke out against the Jumbos in that frame, sending 12 men to the plate and scoring seven runs. Second baseman Jeff Bourdon '07 singled in the tying run after a 10-pitch at-bat. In the inning, right fielder Ben Dashefsky '07 contributed a two-run triple, first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 turned in a suicide squeeze bunt single and Bourdon had a two-run double.
"Before [the seventh] inning, assistant coach [Brian] Lambert told us we needed to get it together and everyone needed to start producing," Brzozowski said. "I think that was the major turnaround and everybody got their head in the game, and we were able to put together that huge inning. Hitting is just contagious."
Pitcher Tyler Robinson '08 got the win in relief to improve to 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA on the season. He gave up back-to-back walks in the fifth to allow the go-ahead run, but gave up only one hit in two and two-thirds innings.
The Judges went 3-2 during the April vacation, and Robinson and shortstop Zach Golden '07 were named UAA Athletes of the Week. Golden batted .500 with four walks and a home run during the stretch, while Robinson allowed just one earned run in 10.2 innings on the mound, striking out a career-high 13 batters against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 3.
The Judges visit Bowdoin College today at 4 p.m.
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