WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University baseball coach Derek Carlson '91 reached the 300-career win plateau tonight as the Judges defeated visiting Becker College, 17-13, in a marathon game on Stein Diamond. Brandeis improves to 11-13 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 9-16.
The win was Carlson's 39th as Brandeis's head coach, with his previous 261 coming as the head coach at Roger Williams University.
Tonight's contest lasted three hours and 35 minutes before the hosts emerged victorious, as Brandeis scored runs in seven of their eight innings and Becker scored in six of nine. The Judges put up four crooked numbers, while Becker had two multi-run innings, including a seven-run seventh in which they sent 12 men to the plate to cut a 14-6 deficit down to one run at 14-13.
Brandeis rookie lefty Marc Maestri (Katonah, N.Y./Somers) came in with no outs and runners at second and third in that seventh inning. He induced a grounder to third with the infield in that cut down the tying run at the plate, then struck out the next two batters to escape with the one-run lead. Maestri then retired the side in order in the eighth and worked around a one-out single in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
The Judges' 18-hit explosion was led by sophomore shortstop Mike Khoury (E. Bridgewater, Mass./E. Bridgewater), who went 4-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Khoury belted his team-leading fifth home run of the game as the second batter of the contest, then hit a pair of doubles to deliver one RBI in the second and two more in the fifth. Sophomore left fielder Tommy Sand (S. Windsor, Conn./S. Windsor) was 2-5 with three RBI, including a key two-run single in the eighth that gave the Judges some breathing room after Becker had reduced the lead to one.
Brandeis junior second baseman Victor Oppenheimer (West Hills, Calif./Chaminade) and sophomore catcher Luke Hall (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown) each scored three runs, while junior Alex Parrott (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South) delivered a two-run triple in Brandeis's four-run fifth inning. Sophomores Isaac Fossas (Dudley, Mass./Milton Acad.) and Dan Frey (Ipswich, Mass./St. John's Prep) each had doubles. Rookie first baseman Aneesh Avancha (Plantsville, Conn./Chase Collegiate School) went 2-4 with two runs scored, and an RBI sac fly in his first collegiate start.
For Becker, eight different players knocked out 12 hits. DH Evan Barrera led the way going 3-6 with an RBI. Right fielder Dewayne Thomas had an RBI triple in the second inning to get the Hawks on the board, while Michael Bianco added a solo home run in the fourth, his team-leading third of the campaign. In Becker's big seventh inning, the visitors scored on RBI hits by pinch hitter Tanyon Ventres and shortstop Coby Hussey, with a bases-loaded walk and a hit batter and two errors responsible for the rest of the runs.
On the hill, with the exception of Maestri, seven of the eight pitchers in the game were scored upon, though three of those saw all of their runs unearned. Sophomore Rik Jhamb (Shrewsbury, Mass./Advanced Math and Science Academy) earned his first collegiate win by pitching the fifth inning and allowing two unearned runs along with two strikeouts. Jhamb came on in relief of rookie Cam Roberts (Leominster, Mass./Nashoba Regional), who gave up four runs on five hits in the first four frames. He struck out five and walked one. Becker's Jack Snyder shouldered the loss, going 4.1 innings and allowing 11 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits and four walks, striking out four.
Brandeis will wrap up a three-game non-conference homestand on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Curry College.