BRIDGEWATER-The baseball team's weekend at the ECAC tournament pretty much summed up their inconsistency this season. The No. 8-seeded Judges first exploded offensively and routed top-seeded Bridgewater State College 15-7 Friday.

They then got locked into a late-inning defensive battle ending in a 5-4, 10-inning semifinal loss Saturday to the tournament's eventual champion, Endicott College.

The Gulls topped Babson College 4-3 to take the ECAC New England title in a game immediately after both teams came off extra-inning semifinal wins.

After baseball coach Pete Varney added two games against Suffolk University to the Judges' schedule in an effort to strengthen their NCAA tournament bid chances, the Judges lost both, and made the ECAC New England tournament as the last seed. Brandeis finished the season with a 20-17 record.

"If I knew the answer to" why the team has been inconsistent this season, "I'd be worth a million bucks," Coach Pete Varney said.

Team captain B.J. Belair '05 agreed that it's hard to pinpoint the source of the team's troubles. "Sometimes that's just baseball," he said.

Bryan Lambert '05 pitched almost four innings of relief and gave up three runs against the Gulls on Saturday, though none were earned. The fifth-year senior and perennial Brandeis athlete was forced to end his career on a sour note, giving up the game-winning run on a single by Endicott junior pitcher Matt Bishop in the bottom of the tenth inning.

The Judges did not score in the final three innings and Bishop dominated, giving up seven hits in the complete game in addition to driving in the game-winning run.

"We faced a great pitcher today," center fielder Chris Navis '05 said. "We got a good game from [rookie pitcher] Tyler [Robinson] and [Lambert] came in and they just got some hits that fell in."

The left-handed Robinson pitched a solid game for Brandeis Saturday against Endicott, allowing only two earned runs with seven strikeouts in five 5 2/3 innings.

He repeatedly brought himself out of jams with inning-ending strikeouts and solid infield defense in the sixth inning before loading the bases after a wild pitch and a walk, giving way for Lambert. The first Endicott batter he faced drove in a run with a line-drive single. The next grounded out to second to end the inning.

Lambert was in control for most of his relief work and struck out four batters, but late-game errors hurt Brandeis.

The Judges' game against Endicott starkly contrasted the one Brandeis played against Bridgewater the day before. The Judges exploded for 15 runs, shelling Bridgewater junior Aidan Powers for 10 hits and four home runs.

Brandeis' bats started slowly, but the team sent Powers packing with a six-hit, five-run fourth inning that brought the score to 6-2. The Bears battled back with their own five-run inning in the seventh when they finally broke through steady ace Tim Dunphy '06. Lambert came on and immediately got out of the inning by forcing Bridgewater rookie Steve Smith into a double play.

"[Dunphy] throws away from batters and a little slower, and [Lambert] comes in throwing fastballs that [players] just can't keep up with," center field Chris Navis '05 said.

Lambert shut out the Bears in just under three innings on the mound, but he had the run support that was noticeably absent during the semifinal game. Every starter had at least one hit, while Jeff Bourdon '07 and Belair and Lambert each had three RBIs.

"We might have played our best game the entire year," Navis said.

The Judges are losing nine players to graduation-most notably Lambert, Belair and Navis-who have been a significant part of the Judges' defensive efforts this season, while also putting up solid numbers at the plate. But the team has an abundance of young pitchers and offensive juggernauts like Bourdon and Zach Golden '06, as well as ace Dunphy who will return next year.

"I think they'll do great," Belair said. "They have a great core of talented kids. They should have high hopes for next year.