In the first game of the softball team's doubleheader against regionally ranked No. 4 Rhode Island College last Thursday, pitcher Caroline Miller '12 gave up two home runs in the first inning to put the Judges in an early 3-0 hole in a game they would go on to lose 9-3. In the second game, the Judges also fell behind after a home run in the first inning, and while they were able to tighten the gap, they ultimately suffered the same fate.The Judges lost the second game 4-1 in a game that was called after five innings due to darkness to drop the team's record to 22-14 on the year. RIC, which has gone to the NCAA Division III Tournament the last three seasons, improved to 31-3-1 with the sweep.

"Anytime you're facing a home run-hitting team, it's a little bit disheartening [to give up home runs early]," coach Jessica Johnson said. "It's a bit demoralizing and hard to bounce back from. It's tough. We know that we need to do it, and we didn't get it done."

In the second game, Brandeis starting pitcher Emily Vaillette '10 gave up a two-run home run in the first inning to RIC sophomore left fielder Kayla Jandreau. Jandreau came into the week without any home runs on the season but then hit two in the doubleheader against Brandeis, including one off Miller in the first inning of the first game.

The Judges pulled within one run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by rookie right fielder Lara Hirschler '12, scoring second baseman Melisa Cagar '11. However, the Anchormen struck back in the top of the fifth inning, scoring two more runs on three hits to secure the win.

Brandeis could only muster four hits against RIC sophomore starting pitcher Melanie Neece, who has a 1.68 ERA on the season.

"They have pretty good pitchers, and I think it just took us too long to adjust to what they were throwing at us," Cagar said.

In the first game, Miller gave up two home runs in the first inning. One was a solo home run off the bat of Jandreau and the other was a two-run blast by sophomore first baseman Chelsi Panarelli. Both of these home runs, and eight of the RIC runs in the game, came with two outs, an issue Johnson said has been plaguing the team all season.

As another example, the Judges gave up three runs with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning in an eventual 5-4 loss to Babson College in the second game of a doubleheader April 17.

"That's been kind of our story all year," she said. "Most of the runs that we give up are with two outs, so we're not closing the door. . I just think we're not finishing for whatever reason."

While Brandeis got two runs in the bottom of the first inning to pull to within one run, the Anchormen pulled away with one run in the second inning and two more in the third. The two third- inning runs came off another two-out home run by Panarelli.

Miller struggled in the RIC loss, giving up four home runs in just three full innings of work to fall to 11-4 on the season. However, her earned run average is still a solid 2.73 for the season.

"They were just very talented hitters," Miller said. "They were taking everything I knew how to throw. We tried changing it up, they were just much better than I could be today."

Miller also went 0-2 from the plate, leaving a team-high four runners on base, however, Johnson said she still plans to have Miller bat in every game she pitches.

"We let [Miller] hit when she's pitching, just because we think that gives us our strongest offense," Johnson said. "She's a little bit hit-or-miss. When she does hit, she hits the ball really hard so it usually pays dividends, [but] when she misses, she misses, so it's kind of a 50-50."

The Judges end their regular season today in a home doubleheader against Tufts University at 3:30 p.m.