United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Softball

WELLESLEY, MASS.--(5/14/10)--Second-seeded Brandeis University rallied in the bottom of the sixth with two runs to snag a come-from-behind 7-6 win over third-seeded Coast Guard in the NCAA Regional Softball Tournament this evening at Wellesley College.

Brandeis, ranked 18th nationally, advances to the winners bracket finals against Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, May 15, at 2pm. Coast Guard will play Bowdoin on Saturday at noon in the loser bracket semifinals.

Coast Guard (31-9) was hampered by 20 illegal pitches called against Hayley Feindel, a rule that the NCAA has decided to enforce during the tournament, but was not called during the entire regular season. When an illegal pitch is called the pitch is a ball and all base runners move up one base.

Brandeis scored four of its runs on illegal pitch calls and a fifth run was also a result of the rule.

Coast Guard jumped to an early lead as Maddie Buchert walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and scored on Amanda Frederick's single to center. Two batters later, Frederick scored on a Brandeis error to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. The Judges answered in the bottom of the inning when Melisa Cagar led off with a walk and moved around to score on three illegal pitches.

The Bears added another run in the second, when Megan Cook doubled to left driving in Stacia Sarwinski for a 3-1 lead. But the Judges stayed close, using a double from Marianne Specker and another illegal pitch to trim the lead to 3-2.

Coast Guard scored again in the top of the fourth, with a two-run double from Frederick to push the lead to 5-2. But Brandeis answered in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Carly Schmand and another illegal pitch to trim the lead to 5-4.

The Bears kept the pressure on in the fifth, when Courtney Wolf led off with a double and scored on Jamie Kim's single to center. Brandeis responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning to keep the lead at one run.

The Judges held Coast Guard scoreless in the top of the sixth, then took a 7-6 lead in bottom of the inning with a two-out, two-run single from Cagar. The Judges' Caroline Miller, on in relief of Emily Vaillette, retired the Bears in the seventh for the 7-6 win.

For Brandeis, Specker and Schmand tallied a pair of hits each. Cagar, Danielle Lavallee, and Lauren Porcaro added one hit apiece, with Cagar driving in the tying and winning runs. Miller (9-2) got the win, throwing two hitless innings in relief.

For Coast Guard, Frederick led the attack with two hits and three RBI. Buchert, Wolf, Kim, and Cook chipped in with hits as well.