WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University softball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of Brandeis University on Saturday afternoon in a twin bill at Raymond Diamond. The Judges prevailed 9-0 in five innings in game one and 9-1 in six innings in game two.

With the wins, Brandeis opens its season with a record of 2-0. Worcester State drops to 2-11-1 overall on the year.

Game 1 - Brandeis 9, Worcester State 0 (5 innings)

Brandeis starting pitcher Sydney Goldman (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) was the story of game one, throwing a perfect game in the 9-0 win. 

Goldman recorded 13 strikeouts on her way to retiring all 15 Lancer batters she faced. The outing required only 53 pitches, 43 of which went over the plate for strikes (81.1 percent). It was not until the bottom of the fourth inning that the Lancers put the ball in play on Goldman, when first-year Grace Adams (Leominster, Mass.) popped out to second base.

Offensively, Brandeis did the majority of its damage in an eight-run top of the second inning. Sophomore Tara Striggow (Cape Coral, Fla.) got the scoring started with a two-run double, before Striggow would come around to score on a double from first-year Alex Cohen (West Palm Beach, Fla.). Amidori Anderson (Sparks, Nev.), Melissa Rothenberg (Lawrenceville, N.J.), and Jolie Fujita (Honolulu, Hawaii) also recorded RBIs for the Judges in the inning.

Brandeis tacked on one more for insurance on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth to give the game its final score of 9.0.

Liv Larson (Marlborough, Mass.) was credited with the loss for Worcester State. She was relieved by first-year Emily Bartlett (Lowell, Mass.), who looked sharp with just one earned run and two hits against in 3.2 innings pitched.

Game 2: Brandeis 9, Worcester State 1 (6 innings)

Worcester State's bats showed signs of life in game two, but Brandeis still proved too much for the Lancers to handle.

The Judges scored in every inning except the top of the first to overwhelm the hosts. The steady offensive attack culminated in a four-run top of the sixth to put the game out of reach. 

Rothenberg, Fujita, and Cohen all recorded a pair of hits to pace the visitors. Fujita also walked twice, drove in two runs, and scored three times.

Worcester State got its only run of the afternoon in the bottom of the fifth inning when Bartlett brought home Adams on an RBI single. First-year Brynna Meeker (Northwood, N.H.) led Worcester State with two hits, including a double.

In the circle, Bartlett took the loss, throwing 2.2 innings, and allowing two earned on two hits. Cohen got the victory for Brandeis, allowing just five hits and striking out 11 in the complete game.

Worcester State will return to action on Friday, playing Westfield State in MASCAC action on wsulancers.com/broadcast.

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