Sophomore Natalia Pilpil sprints home during a softball matchup against Carnegie Mellon early this season. (Clara Richards | Student Life.)

The Washington University softball team had two doubleheaders against Brandeis on Friday and Saturday this past weekend. In the first double-header, WashU and Brandeis split the wins. 

Brandeis came out with an early lead in game one, scoring a run in the first inning and adding two more in the third and fifth innings. The Bears fought back in the top of the sixth, with sophomore Erin Reardon and senior Tami Wong hitting a single and a double, respectively. Ashley Kennedy then drove in Reardon for the Bears’ only run of the game. Despite some strong performances at the plate, including Katie Gould going 3-for-4 and Reardon going 2-for-3, WashU fell short with a final score of 3-1. 

The Bears had an impressive offensive showing in game 2, scoring five runs in the second inning, including a bases-clearing triple by sophomore Maggie Baumstark. They added two more runs in the fourth and sixth innings, securing a 9-0 victory. Jordan Rossi pitched a fantastic game, allowing only two hits and no runs or walks, while striking out six batters. 

In the second doubleheader of the weekend, the Bears came up short in both games against Brandeis. In game 3 of the weekend, WashU fought hard but couldn’t overcome an early 4-1 lead by Brandeis. The Bears fought back in the top of the fourth inning, with Baumstark and Kennedy both getting hits to load the bases. Reardon’s bunt scored Baumstark to bring the score to 4-2. In the top of the sixth, Natalia Pilpil hit a lead-off homer to make it a 4-3 game, but the Judges’ defense held strong and prevented any further scoring from the Bears. Despite a strong effort from the Bears, the Judges were able to hold on for the win. Jamie Burgasser took the loss for the Bears, pitching 5.2 innings with four earned runs, five walks, and three strikeouts.

In game 4 of the weekend, WashU scored first in the top of the opening inning, with Gould scoring on Kennedy’s two-out double to left center. The Bears added another run in the second inning, as Olivia Craycraft singled to right and later stole home. The Judges came back in the bottom of the second inning, tying the game at 2-2. Brandeis then surged ahead in the bottom of the third inning, scoring three runs to take a 5-2 lead over the Bears. WashU managed to score one more run in the top of the fifth inning, with Kennedy hitting her fourth hit of the game, a double to left, and Wong singling up the middle to score her. However, the Judges held on to their lead and secured the win. 

While the Bears would have liked to come away with more wins, they played hard and showed determination throughout the games. The Bears will now return back to St. Louis for their final two games of the regular season, a double-header against University of Chicago on Saturday, April 29th.