The men's baseball team had a winning record for the first time all season last week after beating Johnson and Wales University in a 2-1 11th inning thriller on Thursday. But the celebration was short-lived. The Judges' stay above .500 was halted when the team dropped both games of a double header to hosting Trinity College on Saturday. Brandeis lost game one 8-2 and fell in game two 5-1. The Judges wrapped up the week 14-15 on the season. With only three games remaining, Brandeis needs to win at least two of those games to accomplish a winning season.
"We needed timely hitting," coach Pete Varney said. "A couple things here and there. Small things, never big things."
Dan McIntosh '04 continued his solid play from the plate in the first game, going 4-4 with a home run, a double and an RBI. McIntosh went hitless in the second game but is still batting a team leading .350 (minimum 40 at-bats). Tim Dunphy '06 allowed seven earned runs during a rough outing in game one, while five Judges made mound appearances in game two to no avail. Steve Simolaris '07 chipped in hitting 4-5 over the two games.
"McIntosh has really come on of late," Varney said. "He really started slow, but recently he's added some punch to the line up."
The Judges' setback came at the heels of a two game winning streak. The Judges defeated Johnson &andWales on Thursday after a 5-2 home victory against Salve Regina College on Wednesday. It took the Judges extra innings on Thursday, but Jeff Bourdon '07 had an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning to bring home a 2-1 victory against the Wildcats. Bryan Lambert '04 got the win, allowing only three hits through six innings for his third victory of the season. Ben Dashefsky '07 chipped in too, going 2-4 at the plate.
Dashefsky started the season strongly but has struggled since. After being named UAA Rookie of the Year, Dashefsky has endured a number of hitting droughts. Simolaris has conversely been hitting the ball better and better. Dashefsky and Simolaris are roommates and like to motivate one another.
"I'm just real relaxed at the plate right now," Simolaris said. "Ben's not doing bad. He's hitting the ball hard, they're just not falling."
"Ben did get off to a terrific start," Varney said. "But seeing it's towards the end of the season I think he may be putting too much pressure on himself."
Before traveling to Providence, Paul Ramsdell '04 allowed two runs through seven innings and Lambert picked up his third save of the season as the Judges defeated Salve Regina College 5-2. Zach Golden '06 and Bourdon each went 2-4 from the plate. The Judges piled on the offense in one giant spurt, exploding for five runs in the third. After Simolaris led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, the Seahawks began to break down. McIntosh was allowed to reach first on an error and the Judges scored on a wild pitch. Singles by Golden and Bourdon were all that was needed to score five runs.
"Golden has been really consistent," Varney said.
With yesteday's game against Tufts University postponed, the Judges still have three more games to play on the season. The Tufts game has yet to be rescheduled, but Brandeis will host Amherst College tomorrow at 3 p.m. before visiting Wheaton College on Sunday. Amherst College is 11-13 while Wheaton is limping towards the end of the season with a 7-20 record.
"We're going to be facing three solid teams in the next week or so," captain Lars Borssen '04 said. "We need to do little things. Have our pitchers throw strikes, have our hitters come up with clutch hits."
"I'm always a little bit emotional at the end of the year particularly with the seniors," Varney said. "They've give a lot to the program. They've made a lot of sacrifices like time, effort and being mentors to the younger guys. Hopefully they can finish out strong and look back on their careers with fond memories."
"[Baseball] has obviously been a big part of my life," Borssen said. "It's fun going out there every day with the same group of guys who you treat like brothers, competing with those guys every day.