The Bears split with Brandeis this weekend, moving to 13-7 on the season (Sruthi Kotlo | Student Life)

The Washington University softball team went 2-2 in its first four games of University Athletic Association (UAA) play, splitting its weekend series against the Brandeis University Judges on March 29-31. 

WashU had an up-and-down weekend, losing 4-2 on Friday, winning 8-4 and losing 8-5 in a Saturday doubleheader, then wrapping up the series with a 9-1 win via mercy rule on Sunday. The Bears came into this weekend having also split their last weekend series, making them 4-4 in their last eight games.

“Splitting with someone is the worst feeling in the entire world because you’re not sure who’s the better team,” head coach Casey Cromwell said after the weekend set.

In the Friday game, the Bears were stymied by a strong pitching performance from Brandeis. WashU was held scoreless until late in the game, with the Judges leading 4-0. In the sixth inning, however, junior Natalia Pilpil’s two-run home run cut the lead in half. Sophomore Sydney Schneider led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double, but the Bears could not bring her home as their next three hitters were retired in order.

Junior Jamie Burgasser took the loss on the mound, pitching all seven innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and five walks. With the decision, her record fell to 3-2.

In the first Saturday game, the Bears rebounded with a win, anchored by a strong offensive performance. Schneider put WashU up 1-0 in the first inning with a solo home run, and while Brandeis tied the game in the second inning, junior Taylor Geluck took back the lead for the Bears with an RBI single in the third.

In her next turn at bat, Geluck led off the fifth inning with a triple, sparking a big inning for the Bears. An RBI fielder’s choice by junior Olivia Craycraft brought in the first run of five in the frame. Junior center fielder Maggie Baumstark added a two-RBI double, while junior right fielder Erin Reardon and Schneider had RBI hits of their own to make it 7-1.

“We try to focus a lot on being aggressive at the plate and making in-game adjustments,” Schneider said.

Sophomore catcher Alexa Hanish brought in one more run on a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning, and WashU survived a late seventh-inning push by Brandeis to win 8-4. First-year pitcher Maria Brooks secured the win with a complete game performance, allowing four runs, three of them earned. The win brought her season record to 5-1.

After its solid performance in the first game, WashU pitching could not achieve the same success in the second game of the doubleheader. Brandeis attacked senior starter Emma Urban early, leading off the game with three straight hits. Urban was unable to work out of the opening frame, recording only two outs while being charged with six runs.

Cromwell complimented Brandeis’s offensive performance after it scored 17 runs against WashU pitching this weekend. “They’re a very good hitting team,” Cromwell said. “I think I personally underestimated that.”

The Bears responded with strong hitting of their own, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the first inning. WashU tallied six hits in the first inning alone, as both teams batted around in their respective first turns at the plate. Pilpil, Craycraft, senior Ashley Kennedy, and first-year Elena Locascio all tallied RBI in the first inning, with WashU adding another run on an error in left field.

Despite the Bears’ quick start offensively, they were unable to maintain the pressure for the rest of the game. Brandeis added two more runs in the third inning, and WashU was held to just three hits across the final six innings. First-year Hattie Bond and junior Jordan Rossi combined for 6.1 innings out of the bullpen to complete the game.

After closing the 8-5 loss on Saturday with 2.1 scoreless innings, Rossi started Sunday’s game and turned in a similarly strong performance. Her six innings of one-run ball helped the Bears secure the 9-1 victory by mercy rule in the sixth inning. Cromwell said postgame that the team had planned to use three pitchers on Sunday, but changed plans after Rossi was able to work deep into the game. Rossi and Brooks also currently lead the UAA in ERA with matching 1.50 marks.

The Bears also got another day of strong offense Sunday: after entering the third inning in a scoreless tie, they scored multiple runs in each of the next four frames. All of the Bears’ starters had at least one hit, and six players recorded RBI.

“We’re really good at bouncing back,” Cromwell said. “But now, we’re trying to find that consistent energy.”

The Bears were one run away from ending the game an inning earlier, leading 7-0 after five frames. However, they were still able to finish the contest early, even after the Judges plated a run in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with runners at the corners, Geluck drove a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Schneider from third. Two batters later, Craycraft drove a double to score senior Erin Talkow, securing a 9-1 victory for the Bears. 

Schneider led the offensive charge on Sunday with a 3-4 day, adding two RBI. It was part of a big weekend series for Schneider, as she tallied nine hits and four RBI across the four games. Her performance raised her season batting average to .500, which leads the team and is third-best in the UAA. She emphasized the importance of keeping momentum going into the rest of the season in a postgame interview.

“We just want to ride the energy that we had in game one [Saturday] and through the rest of conference play,” Schneider said. “Cheering in the dugout helps keep the energy up — just supporting each other, diving, making crazy plays.”

WashU’s even start puts it on the same pace as last year when it finished 10-10 in conference play. Cromwell also spoke after the game about the team’s expectations of outperforming last year’s record.

“I think we’re the same confident and very talented team,” she said. “But we didn’t prove it last year. So this year is kind of like a chip on our shoulder.

The Bears will continue their season on April 5 when they visit New York University, which was swept in its four games by Case Western Reserve University to begin its conference schedule.

“It’s a business trip for us,” Cromwell said. “There’s no thought of splitting.”