After dropping its first-ever game as a nationally ranked team against Wellesley College on Wednesday, the softball team looked to bounce back in the second game of the doubleheader. But after getting out to an early lead, the Judges found themselves tied with the Blue after the top of the second inning. Then third baseman Brittany Grimm '12 singled in the bottom of the frame to give the Judges a lead they would not relinquish, as the Judges went on to win the game 6-3 in five innings, which ended due to darkness, after dropping the first game of the doubleheader 9-7.

The No. 14 Judges are now 8-4 on the season.

"It's really just a great honor to be recognized, so we're just hoping we can take that with us the rest of the season and uphold what our reputation has been so far," second baseman Melisa Cagar '11 said.

The Judges got up early on the Blue in game two, scoring twice in the bottom of the first inning on a double by designated hitter Erin Ross '10.

But Wellesley came back in the second to tie it on a two-run home run by senior first baseman Alex Warren.

Judges starting pitcher Caroline Miller '12 was able to limit the damage, however, and kept the game tied going into the bottom of the inning.

In the bottom of the second, the Judges took advantage of wild pitches from rookie starting pitcher Lauren Goldfarb to retake the lead. Right fielder Carly Schmand '11 got on base after an an error by sophomore shortstop Jessie Haladyna.

Cagar walked to put runners on first and second with two outs. Grimm's single then scored Schmand, giving the Judges the 3-2 lead.

Two straight wild pitches by Goldfarb then allowed Cagar to score.

Between the two games Grimm was 4-5 with four runs scored and two runs batted in.

"Brittany has been doing really, really well for us," Cagar said. "She's been playing extremely well, and in the second game she was just clutch. She got in a great position and she did what she needed to do. . It was really a crucial point in that game, and she did a really good job."

The Blue pulled within one run in the top of the fourth, but the Judges scored one run in both the fourth and fifth inning. Grimm drove in her third runner of the afternoon in the fourth, again scoring Schmand.

Schmand then recorded an RBI of her own in the fifth, singling home catcher Stacy Berg '13. The game was then called due to darkness after the fifth inning.

The Judges only had one more hit than the Blue in game two, but Wellesley was undone by two errors to just one for the Judges, along with five walks, two wild pitches and a balk from Goldfarb in five innings.

Miller, who now stands at 2-1 on the season, had just three walks, one wild pitch and no balks in four innings of work.

"With anyone that you play you really want to magnify what mistakes they make or their weaknesses, so you want to exploit them in that aspect," Cagar said. "So if they give it to you, you definitely want to take advantage. It doesn't matter who you're playing, as long as you take advantage. . You just have to really be aggressive and take advantage of it."

In the first game of the day, Wellesley took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff homerun by Haladyna off Brandeis starting pitcher Emily Vaillette '10.

The Judges stormed back in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-1 lead on a double from Berg and a two-run single from Ross. Brandeis then tacked on another run in the bottom of the third

In the fourth, the Blue scored eight runs on six hits and three errors, two of which came from Ross, who started at catcher for the game. Brandeis came back with three in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit.

"They were hitting pretty well, and we just weren't on our A-game [that inning]," Cagar added. . "That inning we just didn't play up to what we're necessarily able to."

The Judges play three doubleheaders this week, starting today at 3 p.m. at Suffolk University. They then return home Thursday for a doubleheader against Lasell College at 3:30 p.m. before heading out on the road again to play Salem State College on Saturday at 1 p.m.