The softball team had a fantastic outing this past week, coming out on top in all three of their games. The Judges went on a scoring frenzy in their games against Lesley University and narrowly beat Case Western Reserve University before the ensuing blizzard ended the game. The Judges had to work through having multiple snowed-out games, as they only played in three of their six scheduled games this week. 

Judges 4, Case 2

Rookie pitcher Scottie Todd ’20 started the day on the mound, pitching a shutout game going into the fifth inning. The Judges were equally shut out by the Case pitching staff, stranding runners on base throughout the first four innings of play. 

Todd began to tire after four innings, hitting a batter in the top of the fifth and allowing two singles, which led to the first run of the game. With a steal by Case and a sacrifice fly to left, the Spartans took the lead, up 2-0 in the fifth. 

The Judges battled back in the fifth, determined to take the lead away from Case. Left fielder Marissa DeLaurentis ’19 took a base on balls with two outs to start the Judges out offensively. Third baseman PJ Ross ’20 marched to the plate and smacked a single to right to put DeLaurentis in scoring position. Case then made a costly pitching substitution, with junior pitcher Katie Dzierwa walking all three Judges she faced, cutting the score to 2-2. 

Case pulled their reliever and subbed back in their starting pitcher to face infielder Marysa Massoia ’19. Massoia connected for a frozen rope to left-center, scoring the winning runs in the bottom of the fifth. 

After Massoia’s heroics, the umpires called the game due to the heavy snowfall, giving the Judges their third straight win for the successful week. 

Judges 14, Lesley 3

The Judges clobbered the Lynx for the second time on Wednesday, bashing the ball around the field for 14 runs. The wins marked the Judges’ first home wins of the season and buoyed their record to a solid 5-4 mark. 

The Judges maxed out with 16 hits on the day, with pitcher Callie MacDonald ’20 giving up a mere three hits to the Lynx. The Judges broke open the gates with a three-run first inning, contributing one more in the second and 10 in the third and fourth. First baseman Allison Hecht ’17 cracked a homer in the first inning to bring in two runs, marking her first dinger of the season.  

MacDonald settled down after the third inning, giving up two hits in the top of the fourth. With two on base, MacDonald allowed a three- run shot to cut the Judges’ lead to five. Still, the Judges were unfazed, responding with six runs in the bottom of the fourth.

After dominating their opponent and going up more than 10 runs, the Judges mercied Lesley and took their second game of the series.

Judges 11, Lesley 0

The squad easily handled the Lynx pitching staff, busting open for 11 runs and shutting out the team in five easy innings. Catcher Keri Lehtonen ’19 started the day off in a hurry, bashing a double to lead off the series. After a bunt and a pop-up, the Judges had their first run of the day safe at home. 

Todd started the day on the mound, holding the Lynx offense to three hits and two walks, improving to 3-1 on the year and notching a 0.88 ERA. 

The sensational rookie class took the game by the helm, with Todd and Ross smashing back-to-back homers in the third inning. The feat marked the first home runs for both players, a mark sure to be repeated in the coming games. 

The Judges came away with 15 total hits, a smidge under their 16-hit performance in the next game. Outfielder Taylor Simala  ’20 accounted for three of those 15 hits, scoring three runs for the Judges after reaching base on each of her three at-bats. 

The Judges improve to 6-4 on the season and will look to continue their streak against Framingham State University today at 4 p.m.