Brandeis sweeps Wheaton as Johnson earns first win over alma mater
NORTON, Mass. (from a Wheaton College press release)-
Former Wheaton College All-American Jessica Johnson earned her
first coaching victories over her alma mater today as the Brandeis
Judges defeated the Lyons, 10-5 and 3-2, in a non-conference
doubleheader. In the first series meeting since 1997, the Judges
improved to 16-10 on the season, while the Lyons slipped to
14-20.
In the opener, the Blue and White rallied from an early deficit to
knot the contest by the third inning. Brandeis scored each of its
first three runs with two down, plating an unearned run in the
opening inning before junior Erin Ross (Manalapan,
NJ/Manalapan) hit a two-run double in the third.
Hitless prior to the inning, Wheaton scored three runs with two
down in the third, with the first coming in when sophomore
Marissa Hobocan's (Shelton, CT/Saint Joseph)
single up the middle plated classmate Katy Salka (Ayer,
MA/Ayer). After a double off the bat of senior
Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord), Hobocan came
home on a wild pitch, and Benton scampered plateward on an infield
miscue.
However, Brandeis immediately took the lead back, with freshman
Lara Hirschler's (Bellmore, NY/John F. Kennedy)
one-out RBI single in the fourth giving her team an advantage for
good. The Judges scored five times on five hits in the fifth, while
another two-out run came home in the sixth. Wheaton staged a short
rally in the bottom half, as the first two batters reached before
Salka came through with a two-out, two-run single to produce the
final margin. The Lyons stranded two in the seventh.
Salka finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Hobocan added a pair of
hits. Freshman Mary Fay (Stoughton, MA/Cardinal
Spellman) suffered the loss, going 4.1 innings, before
classmate Lesley Warn (Portland, ME/Deering)
yielded one run in 2.2 frames of relief.
Ross went 3-for-4 with two RBI for the Judges, Hirschler finished
2-for-3 with two RBI, and sophomore Courtney Kelley
(Leicester, MA/Notre Dame Academy) was 2-for-3 while
scoring a pair of runs. Freshman Caroline Miller (Bala
Cynwyd, PA/Harriton) yielded four earned runs in six
innings to earn the victory.
Brandeis also scored the first three runs of the second contest,
tallying once in the first before sophomore Danielle
Lavallee (Sutton, MA/Notre Dame Academy) and Kelley
smacked consecutive run-scoring hits in the third, but the rally
ended when Kelley was caught trying to take an extra base, and the
Lyons claimed momentum.
After the first eight Lyons were held hitless, freshman
Emily O'Connell (Kennebunk, ME/Kennebunk) punched
a 3-2 pitch up the middle with two down in the third before Hobocan
doubled to left center, but the Lyons were unable to score. The
following inning, Wheaton rallied to make it 3-1, as senior
Lynn Cotto's (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) two-out
single plated the first run. Senior Stacey Kelleher
(Brockton, MA/Brockton) drilled an opposite-field dinger
leading off the sixth to cut the Lyon deficit to a lone run, and
O'Connell singled with one down in the bottom of the seventh before
eventually reaching third with two down but being stranded.
Kelleher finished 2-for-3 with two runs, while O'Connell was
2-for-3. Warn yielded three earned runs in three frames before
junior Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) fired
four no-hit innings out of the bullpen.
Seven Judges had single hits in the contest in support of junior
Emily Vaillette (Milford, NH/Milford), who yielded
eight hits during a complete-game effort.
Brandeis is next in action on Thursday afternoon when they travel
to Salve Regina University for a 4 p.m. twin-bill.
