After the rescheduling of games against Bridgewater State University, Clark University and Wentworth Institute of Technology, respectively, the Brandeis baseball team has only played in one game in the past week, a game in which the Judges were defeated by the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers.

The loss to the Engineers marks the sixth loss for the Judges this season, giving them a record of 1-6. The game was well fought, however, as the score was 9-12 and the loss came in the later innings of the game.

The Judges started off the game strong with a 1-0 lead over the engineers. Infielder Mike Khoury ’21 hit a home run in the first pitch that he faced. As his second home run of the season, Khoury is shaping out to be a very strong rookie for the Judges, and with more practice will hopefully steer the Judges to many future victories. Additionally, left-handed pitcher Greg Tobin ’20 saw a career-high of eight strikeouts in the first three innings. Even more impressive was that Tobin accounted for five hits and four walks that took place during the course of this game.

At the top of the sixth inning, the Judges had a pretty stable lead at 5-3 over the Engineers. Right fielder Dan O’Leary ’20 drove an RBI single to center with a pair of outs in the seventh. However, WPI junior Steven Gallagher responded with a hit that led to a home run for the home team.

The game was very back and forth in nature. The Judges played well, and the Engineers responded with even more talented play. Other impressive aspects to this game were the fact that Isaac Fossas ‘21 went 3 out of 4 in hits and that four players, Mason Newman ’21, Bradley Bousquet ’18, Kyle Shedden ’20 and Daniel Schupper ’19, played and were on the mound during the game.

With all of these great plays and all of the talent shown, the Judges failed to pull off a victory. At the bottom of the ninth, the Judges did have a 9-8 advantage over the Engineers; however, they were not able to maintain this lead. Later on in the game, the Engineers pulled ahead as WPI sophomore Tyrone Patterson delivered a walk-off three-run home run to put them ahead of the Judges.

With all of the games that have been postponed, this is an important time for the Judges. They need to regroup and reflect on the start to their season before going into the rest of the season to correct a rough start. 

Looking ahead, with all of the delays and postponements, the Judges are next up to play on Wednesday at Rhode Island College. Last year, the Judges lost to Rhode Island College with a score of 2-1, but hopefully, the Judges will be able to band together to gain their second victory of the season. 

As March comes to a close, the relatively mild winter will come to an end and the team hopefully won’t have to worry about postponements any longer. The doubleheader against Wentworth Institute of Technology that was origonally scheduled for this past Sunday was rescheduled as a single game for Monday, April 2nd. The team has had five games postponed due to the snow which has put them at a disadvantage. The Judges have not entered University Athletic Association conference play, which is the most critical part of the season. With less game experience than their eventual opponents as well as limited outdoor practice opportunities, the Judges’ UAA opponents are seemingly in a much better position.  Only time will tell however, as the Judges have the talent to overcome their 1-6 start and make a statement in their remaining games.