Box Score BANGOR, Maine - Senior pitcher Kristina Haghdan fired five shutout innings and sophomore CF Michelle Adelman homered in the first inning as the Tufts softball team earned a 2-0 winner's bracket victory over Brandeis at the NCAA Regoinal on Saturday.
Following their win, head coach Lauren Ebstein's Jumbos (19-5) are the only undefeated team at the Regional. They will play Eastern Connecticut, who is 2-1 in the tournament, on Sunday at 10:00 am. Brandeis (14-2) plays Husson in an elimination game today at 4 pm.
Haghdan, starting for the second straight game at the Regional, went five innings allowing just two hits with four strikeouts and no walks. She allowed a pair of singles by Marley Felder, with one out in the first and to lead off the fourth. Jumbo senior Kristi Van Meter pitched the final two innings for a save.
Adelman hit the second pitch in the bottom of the first inning over the fence in left-center giving the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.
Tufts then added a run in the second after two were out. A single by Mia Steinberg to lead off the inning and back-to-back fielder's choices left Jumbo Reegan Coleman on first with two outs. Rachel Moore delivered an opposite-field drive that rolled to the fence in right-center and was mishandled slightly. Coleman scooted all the way around from first to score.
Felder had her third hit of the game with two outs in the sixth against Van Meter, but the Tufts pitcher got a strikeout to end the frame. Tufts threatened to add a run in the sixth as Emma Della Volpe walked and Josie Steinberg singled with one out. Brandeis starter Sydney Goldman got the next two batters to keep it a 2-0 game.
The Judges would bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the top of the seventh. Alex Cohen led off with a walk and Alyssa Renskers singled putting runners on first and second. However, Van Meter got a pop-up to shortstop to end the game.
For the second straight game at the Regional, Tufts gave the opposing pitching its first loss of the season. Yesterday they won against Babson's Brooke Stock, who led the nation with a 0.25 era entering the weekend. Brandeis' Goldman - who was sixth nationally at 0.64 - dropped to 7-1 giving up four hits and two runs with four K's and a walk.
Van Meter's third save saw two hits and two strikeouts with a walk.
