The Justice

Media Credit: David Sheppard-Brick

Despite not officially beginning her tenure at Brandeis until January 2008, first baseman Courtney Kelley '11 commuted to campus during the softball team's "fall ball" season to practice with the squad and attended the team's only "playdate," even though she wasn't eligible to play yet.

"I really wanted to show that I was committed and wanted to be part of the team so I made the commute for all the practices and the lifts and workouts and [things] like that," Kelley said.

Her dedication showed during last Wednesday's doubleheader against Worcester Polytechnic Institute, when Kelley connected for three hits and drove in three runs. In the first game, she capped a Judges 9-1 win with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, while in the second game, she jumpstarted Brandeis' five-run comeback with an RBI double in the fifth inning.

"After [University Athletic Association play], especially when we got back here, I had a little bit of a harder time adjusting to the collegiate pitching, but I'm glad that my bat's finally starting to come around," she said.

Kelley's home run was the second of her collegiate career, the first being a two-run walk-off home run against University Athletic Association champion Washington University in St. Louis March 15.

Kelley's production last week raised her batting average 57 points, from .200 before the doubleheader to .257, while elevating her RBI total from four to seven.

"Regardless of the situation … I just really try to go out there and just get the ball in play and hopefully get to first base," she said.

"If other things happen, where I can get a double or a triple or even a home run, that's great, but I'm just really going [up] to the plate just [to] start something up or continue the momentum," she added.

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