WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University snaps a four-game winning streak for the Roger Williams University Baseball team with an 8-4 win Thursday afternoon.

 

Roger Williams jumped on the board early thanks to junior SS Kevin Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.), who homered in back-to-back innings. He led off the second with an opposite-field solo shot off of Brandeis rookie starter Justin Duncombe (Canyon Country, Calif.). With two out in the third, Simpson added a three-run shot to left-center field, giving the Hawks a 4-0 advantage. The round-trippers were his sixth and seventh on the season.

 

The Judges responded in the bottom of the third, as the bottom of their lineup jump-started the offense. Senior SS Malcolm Cone-Coleman (Portland, Maine) led off with a double to center field, and senior CF Chuck Sheehan followed with a bunt single just past the pitcher. Deshler followed with a two-bagger of his own to cut the lead to 4-2. He moved to third on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore 1B Drake Livada (Cape Elizabeth, Maine).

 

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Judges' eight and nine hitters got it going again in the fifth. Cone-Coleman bounced a ball up the middle to lead off, and Sheehan followed with another bunt single. Deshler followed by blasting a ball to deep left field for his fourth home run of the season and third in the last two days. The three-run job drove RWU starter Brian Hurld (So. Boston, Mass.) from the game and put Brandeis ahead to stay, 6-5. The Judges added insurance runs in the seventh on an error and in the eighth on an RBI single by rookie DH Pat Nicholson (E. Walpole, Mass.).

 

Meanwhile, the Brandeis pitchers were able to work out of trouble the rest of the game, as they stranded nine Hawks on base in the final six frames. After Duncombe departed, sophomore Kyle Ritchie (Brewster, Mass.) allowed two hits, but got all three of his outs on strikeouts. Senior Tyler Robinson (Manotick, Ont.) came on with two on and one out in the seventh but got out the trouble and struck out four while walking two in 2.2 innings to earn his second save of the season. Duncombe got the win, tossing 5.1 innings, allowing nine hits and four earned runs. He walked one and struck out one to improve to 2-1 on the season.

 

In addition to Deshler's big day at the plate, Cone-Coleman and Sheehan combined to go 5-7 at the plate with a double and five runs scored. Sophomore 2B John O'Brion (Portland, Maine) also had two hits, including a double.

 

In addition to Simpson, who was retired in his final three at bats to finish 2-5 with his two homer runs and four RBI, Roger Williams had three other multiple hitters. Junior 2B Bill Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) was 3-4 with a double, while rookie 3B Zach Porter (Middleboro, Mass.) and sophomore DH Billy Dunn (Fiskdale, Mass.) were each 2-4. Hurld suffered the loss for the Hawks, allowing eight hits and six runs (five earned) in four innings of work. He struck out five and walked none.

 

Roger Williams (28-10) squares off against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. while Brandeis (16-14) goes on the road to play Endicott Friday at 3:30 p.m.