WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The Elmira College baseball team scored first, but was unable to dethrone the Judges of Brandeis University, who scored 11 unanswered runs en route to an 11-2 victory over the Soaring Eagles at Chain of Lakes Park on Wednesday afternoon.

The Judges (3-0) outhit the Soaring Eagles (1-3), 11-to-4, and erased an early two-run deficit with three runs in the bottom of the third. Brandeis also posted three runs in the fifth and eighth innings to put the game out of reach.

Three of EC's four hits came in the first two frames. In the first, Jack Volpe '20 led off with a single, swiped second, and then moved to third on a Jansen Crossley '20 base hit. With runners on the corners, Crossley took off for second on a pitch that ended up in the dirt, giving Volpe enough time to scramble home for Elmira's first run. In the second, Jourdan Plaisted '21 legged out an infield single and can around to score on an errant throw by the Brandeis shortstop.

After tossing back-to-back scoreless frames in his first start as a Soaring Eagle, Robert Gruber '22 ran into trouble in the third. A pair of walks and wild pitches put two in scoring position, and Brandeis first baseman Isaac Fossas evened the game with a two-run hit. Two batters later, Luke Hall pushed across the go-ahead run.

Gruber surrendered one more run, an unearned tally, in the fourth. He finished his 2020 debut with three hits, five walks, and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. Second-year righty Kyle Tubbs '22 threw the remaining 3.2 innings out of the bullpen, the longest outing of his career.

News and Notes

• Brandeis improved to 2-0 in the all-time series against Elmira.
• Crossley was EC's only batter with multiple hits, as the senior outfielder was 2-for-4 with one stolen base.
• Volpe finished 1-for-4 with one run and one stolen base.
• Plaisted was 1-for-3 with one run scored against the Judges.
• Eighth Judges picked up a hit, led by Hall, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs.
• Brandeis' Cam Roberts earned the win with two runs on four hits and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
• Gruber, a transfer from Erie Community College, was saddled with the loss after tossing 4.1 innings and 95 pitches in his first appearance at EC.

Up Next
Play at the 2020 RussMatt Central Florida Invitational continues on Friday, February 21, when the Soaring Eagles take on Augustana College (Ill.) at the Chain of Lakes Park at 10:00 a.m.