Spring Break
BASEBALL: Squad wins a share of UAA title
by Julie Ganz
Sports editor
Sports | 3/18/08
Posted online at 2:42 AM EST on 3/18/08
The baseball team already owned a 1-0 lead against No. 5 Emory University in the bottom of the first inning last Saturday, but with two runners on base, third baseman Drake Livada '10 put the exclamation point on an eventual upset win.
Livada's three-run home run to left field was part of a five-run first inning in a 10-7 victory that gave Brandeis a share of the University Athletic Association championship with the Eagles, the two-time defending tournament champions. The Judges finished the week 4-2 in the UAA and 5-2 overall, one game better than last year's 4-3 start.
"We could win and be 5-2 with a share of the conference title, or we could lose and be 4-3 and not really have much to speak about on what we did down here," first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 said. "Everybody kind of focused in before the game [Saturday] and got ready to play."
The Judges struggled to a 14-15 record last season, just the fourth time they have finished below .500 in coach Pete Varney's 26-year tenure. This year, they had a chance to win the UAA even after losing 7-5 to Emory last Wednesday and capitalized on that opportunity early in last Saturday's game.
Left fielder Tony Deshler '11 led off the inning with a single to right field, advanced to second base when second baseman John O'Brion '10 walked and scored the first run on right fielder David Almeida's '09 single up the middle. Catcher Artie Posch's '10 sacrifice bunt set the stage for Livada's three-run home run, and consecutive doubles by designated hitter Mike Alfego '09 and first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 capped the five-run inning.
"It was just a great inning," Deshler said. "We needed to get on the board first and tell Emory that we were there to play …. We knew that they could really hit the ball, so if we were going to win today, we were going to have to come out and score a bunch of runs."
Emory cut the lead to three by scoring one run in each of the next two innings, but RBIs by Gallagher and Almeida in the fourth inning widened the gap to 7-2. The Judges added three runs off Emory's bullpen in the fifth and sixth innings, turning back an Emory rally late in the game to seal the victory.
Livada's three-run home run to left field was part of a five-run first inning in a 10-7 victory that gave Brandeis a share of the University Athletic Association championship with the Eagles, the two-time defending tournament champions. The Judges finished the week 4-2 in the UAA and 5-2 overall, one game better than last year's 4-3 start.
"We could win and be 5-2 with a share of the conference title, or we could lose and be 4-3 and not really have much to speak about on what we did down here," first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 said. "Everybody kind of focused in before the game [Saturday] and got ready to play."
The Judges struggled to a 14-15 record last season, just the fourth time they have finished below .500 in coach Pete Varney's 26-year tenure. This year, they had a chance to win the UAA even after losing 7-5 to Emory last Wednesday and capitalized on that opportunity early in last Saturday's game.
Left fielder Tony Deshler '11 led off the inning with a single to right field, advanced to second base when second baseman John O'Brion '10 walked and scored the first run on right fielder David Almeida's '09 single up the middle. Catcher Artie Posch's '10 sacrifice bunt set the stage for Livada's three-run home run, and consecutive doubles by designated hitter Mike Alfego '09 and first baseman Nick Gallagher '09 capped the five-run inning.
"It was just a great inning," Deshler said. "We needed to get on the board first and tell Emory that we were there to play …. We knew that they could really hit the ball, so if we were going to win today, we were going to have to come out and score a bunch of runs."
Emory cut the lead to three by scoring one run in each of the next two innings, but RBIs by Gallagher and Almeida in the fourth inning widened the gap to 7-2. The Judges added three runs off Emory's bullpen in the fifth and sixth innings, turning back an Emory rally late in the game to seal the victory.
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