The men's baseball team entered the week looking to rebound from a demoralizing 1-5 road trip in Florida. The team had opened the season 0-5 and just barely salvaged their Florida season with a win in their last game. The Judges rode that momentum all the way back to Waltham and managed to win three in a row and four out of five games last week. After being named University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, Ben Dashefsky '07 continued his solid play behind improved pitching as the Judges improved their record to 5-6 on the season.
The Judges ran off three straight wins upon returning from Florida. Brandeis won the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday against visiting Suffolk University 5-1, only hours after dropping the first game to the Rams 6-2 in their only loss of the week. The Judges also dispatched visiting St. Joseph's College 1-0 on Saturday after beating hosts Springfield College and Salve Regina College earlier in the week.
"We've shown better pitching, more timely hitting and we've executed on offense and defense better," coach Pete Varney said.
Jeff Krasner '05 hit a solo home run to tie the second game of Sunday's doubleheader at one. The Judges pulled away on consecutive RBI's by Dan McIntosh '04, David Graham '04 and Zach Golden '06. Aaron Landes '05 registered the win ,pitching four innings and allowing only three hits. Golden has been a consistent for the Judges at the plate, batting .429 with a team leading seven RBI's.
Dashefsky was the story on Saturday, scoring the Judges only run in a 1-0 shutout of St. Joseph's. Only days after being named UAA Rookie of the Year, Dashefsky hit a lead off double in the fifth inning and was later batted in on a suicide squeeze by Phil Aurigemma '06. Paul Ramsdell '04 pitched a complete game and allowed only two hits while striking out 10 batters. Dashefsky has been a pleasant surprise for the Judges, batting .379 with four RBI's and three doubles.
"[Dashefsky] has assimilated himself very well to what we're trying to accomplish," Varney said. "It's abnormal for a freshman to be in the starting lineup, but he's done everything to affirm that he belongs with the starters."
"I came into this program looking for a chance to show what I can do," Dashefsky said. "I'm grateful to have a chance to help this team. It's never about personal accomplishments. I want to win."
Lars Borssen '04 almost single- handedly lifted the Judges to victory against Springfield on Friday. Borssen had three hits including a double while also recording a save in a 6-4 victory over the hosting Pride. It was the first career save for Borssen, who finished what Bryan Lambert '04 started. Lambert pitched seven innings, while allowing only two runs and striking out 10 Springfield batters.
"Our pitchers have been throwing strikes and our defense has been coming up big when we need them too," Borssen said. "Our offense has kind of declined but it's still been getting the job done."
Tim Dunphy '06 threw his second complete game of the season on Thursday, striking out eight batters and leading the Judges to a 4-3 win over visiting Salve Regina College. The Judges trailed at the start of the fifth inning, but several Salve Regina errors allowed the Judges to score four unearned runs in the fifth. McIntosh batted in the winning run on an error at second base in the fifth. Krasner led the Judges on offense going 2-4 at the plate with and RBI and a run.
Despite the solid week, the Judges still have much to improve on. The Judges will host Wheaton College today at 3 p.m. before going on the road to play Endicott College, Bentley College and UMass Dartmouth. The Wheaton Thunder are 2-9 and will hopefully provide the Judges with a confidence boost.
"There's always room for improvement in every area," Borssen said. "As our season progresses our coach works with what we need to improve. We need to improve our pitching. We want to make the NCAA tournament."
"We're a close group of guys," Dashefsky said. "The seniors have been great to lead us out of this 0-5 start, but it's not about their seniority. Rank doesn't matter except with who carries the equipment, but these guys have really led us and showed us how to play.