From Emory University Athletics
For the second time in three years, the Brandeis University softball team has earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The 13-1 Judges, who were ranked second in New England, will head to Husson University in Bangor, Maine, for this weekend’s regional action. The Judges earned the third seed and will meet fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (30-2) in the opening round on Friday, May, 21st at 2 p.m.
FULL NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT REGIONAL BRACKET
In head coach Dani Bishop’s first season, the Judges bring one of Division III’s top pitching staffs to Bangor. Brandeis’s 0.79 earned-run average ranks second in the nation, while their 0.81 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) leads the country. They also rank eighth with a 5.40 walk-to-strikeout ratio, fanning 108 batters with just 20 walks.
The Judges are nearly as talented at the plate, averaging 6.9 runs per game, 39th in the country, while their .510 slugging percentage rates 35th. With only 14 games played this season, the Judges’ 2.14 doubles per game and 0.79 home runs per game are also among the national leaders, ranking 25th and 30th, respectively.
Individually, the Judges boast a pair of first-team All-New England performers. Leading the way is junior pitcher Sydney Goldman of Sherman Oaks, California, who turned in one of the finest regular seasons in school history. She went 7-0 to tie for second in the University Athletic Association in wins, while allowing just four earned runs in 44 innings pitched for a school-record 0.64 ERA, the fifth-lowest in Division III this season. Goldman completed all seven of her starts with four shutouts. She struck out 10 or more batters in a game in five of her starts, including the second perfect game in program history.
Rookie 3B Haley Nash of Delmar, New York, was also a first-team All-New England selection. Nash hit .342 (13-38)and led the Judges with five home runs, 17 RBI and an .842 slugging percentage – second-highest in the UAA and 42nd overall in Division III. She tied for fourth in the UAA in homers, good for 17th in Division III with 0.36 homers per game, and was 10th in the UAA in RBI. Nash had a hit in 11 of the team's 14 games and drove in a run in 11 contests.
Brandeis and Eastern Connecticut State University will meet for the first time since 2013. The Warriors lead the all-time series, 5-1, including a 7-0 win during the 2010 NCAA Tournament. ECSU is ranked #6 in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III national poll. The Warriors defeated the University of Southern Maine to win the Little East Conference.
Other teams in this weekend’s regional include top-seed and host Husson (27-1), the champions of the North Atlantic Conference, who will meet sixth-seeded Endicott (19-2), champions of the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The other first-round matchup features New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champions Babson (15-1), the second seed, against New England Small College Athletic Conference winners Tufts (17-5), the third seed. Brandeis and Tufts split a series earlier this season.
The Judges are making their first back-to-back appearances in the tournament. In 2019, they were declared regional runners-up against Ithaca College when rain washed out the final day of the regional. In 2010, the Judges finished in third place in a regional held at Wellesley College.