Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Junior pitcher Kristin Masino (North Arlington, N.J.) pitched a one-hit shutout in the first game of the Bates College softball team's doubleheader at Brandeis University on Saturday, as the Bobcats split the twinbill with a 4-0 victory in Game 1 and a 4-2 loss in Game 2.
Brandeis University senior shortstop Mari Levine (Hopkinton, Mass.) hit her second career home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two, giving the Judges a 4-2 victory.
Masino was the story of the opener, allowing just one hit in seven strong innings of work. She struck out eight and walked one. The Judges threatened just once, in the fourth inning. With two outs, Bri Smith (Tewksbury, Mass.) singled and Levine reached on an error to put runners on the corners, but Massino got a come-backer to the circle to get out unscathed.
All four of the Bobcats' runs off of Volpe in the opener were unearned. The only run they would need came on the third inning wild pitch that allowed rookie 3B Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass.) to score. Beckwith had the game's top offensive performance, going 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI double in the seventh inning that helped ice the game.
Brandeis (5-9) fell behind, 1-0, in the first inning of game two, but sophomore RF Natalie Volpe (Southington, Conn.) connected for her first career round-tripper in the fifth inning to tie the contest.
Bates (4-4) got the run right back in the top of the sixth as senior 1B Kyla Decato (Paris, Maine) plated junior CF Katie Franklin (New Preston, Conn.), who had singled and stolen second.
In the bottom of the Judges' sixth, senior 3B Elissa Glucksman (Stamford, Conn.) walked and got bunted to second. A single by sophomore pitcher Kaitlin Streilein (Point Pleasant, N.J.) and a passed ball put runners on second and third with one away. Smith hit a deep sacrifice fly to left field to knot the game at 2-2 before Levine's blast to deep centerfield put the Judges ahead, 4-2.
Streilein struck out a career-high 11 batters to improve to 4-3 on the season. She was also the second game's only multiple hitter, going 2-3 with a run scored.
Bates rookie Christina Knobel (Walpole, Mass.) suffered the loss in relief to fall to 1-1. Sophomore Kate Brown (Portland, Maine) had a solid start, going five innings and allowing one run on three hits.
Junior SS Caitlin Murphy (Westwood, Mass.) had the Bobcats' only extra-base hit, a triple in the first that produced the game's first run.
