BRONX, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University softball team earned its first victory of the season, defeating Brooklyn College by a score of 20-12 in the second game of a non-conference doubleheader at Fordham University, on Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs won the opening game, 7-4.

Yeshiva (1-15) was down 8-1, and then 12-5, in game two. The Maccabees scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game, 12-12. In the home half of the sixth, the Macs scored eight runs to clinch the come-from-behind victory. Junior designated player Gabi Chutter ended the game by singling up the middle to score senior catcher Sarah Hiller, allowing YU to salvage the split.

"I'm really proud of how the team played together and came back from a close first game to win the second," Yeshiva University head coach Danielle DeStaso said. "They have been working really hard and it is all coming together."

Back in the opening game, the Bulldogs struck first as an RBI double off the bat of junior second baseman Anna Curran put Brooklyn in front. Senior pitcher Samantha Cohen settled in and held the Bulldogs scoreless for the next 3.2 innings. The visiting team extended their lead in the fifth, thanks to freshman third baseman Kayla Trembone scoring on a throwing error.

Yeshiva's lineup finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Hiller led it off with a single. After sophomore shortstop Miriam Kazlow was hit by a pitch, senior right fielder Leah Feder singled to right to load the bases. Sophomore third baseman Chana Weinberg reached on a fielding error that scored Hiller and Kazlow to tie the game, 2-2. Weinberg was credited with one RBI on the play.

Brooklyn responded with a five-run sixth inning. Trembone drew a walk with the bases loaded, and then junior catcher Shakira Feliciano and sophomore center fielder Chanel Jemmott each produced a two-run single. The Maccabees got two of those runs back in the bottom frame, highlighted by an RBI groundout by Weinberg that scored Kazlow. It was not enough as Brooklyn earned the game one victory, 7-4.

For the Maccabees, Kazlow went 2-for-4, while sophomore second baseman Chana Boltax scored a run and stole two bases. Feder walked twice, while Weinberg earned a base on balls. Chutter and sophomore first baseman Yael Itskowitz each reached base with a single, while sophomore infielder Malky Perlberger earned a walk.    

Freshman pitcher Megan Ortiz-Mengedoht earned the win in the circle for Brooklyn, while Cohen took the loss for the Maccabees.

In game two, Brooklyn scored four runs in each of the first two innings to take an 8-1 lead. Yeshiva answered with four runs in the bottom frame to pull to within three runs. The highlights of the inning were RBI singles off the bats of Weinberg, Perlberger, and senior left fielder Basya Goldstein.

In the top of the fourth, junior first baseman Melanie Garate drilled an inside-the-park grand slam to right, to extend Brooklyn's lead to 12-5. Yeshiva chipped away in the next half-inning as an RBI single off the bat of Itskowitz highlighted a three-run frame to pull the Blue and White to within four.

In the bottom of the fifth, Yeshiva had the base loaded, nobody out, and two runs already in. Goldstein drilled a single to center, scoring two runs, to tie the game at 12 runs apiece.

After Cohen held the Bulldogs scoreless in the sixth, Yeshiva had a chance to break the tie. Chutter scored on a throwing error by the pitcher that gave Yeshiva its first lead of the evening, 13-12. After YU extended its lead to 15-12, Boltax came up with the base loaded. She came through with a two-run single to increase the Macs' lead to five runs. After Yeshiva scored the next two runs on wild pitches, Chutter provided the heroics by singling up the middle to score Hiller and clinch Yeshiva's first victory of the season.

For the game, Goldstein went 3-for-4 with three RBI, a pair of runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base. Chutter also went 3-for-4, scoring three runs and earning a base on balls. Feder crossed home plate four times, hit a double, and walked. Kazlow singled and stole a base, while Perlberger drove in two runs, scored three times, and stole one base. Itskowitz singled, had four RBI, and scored twice.

Cohen earned her first victory of the season, in the circle, pitching 5.2 effective innings out of the bullpen. Mengedoht took the loss for Brooklyn.

The Maccabees will host Purchase College, in a Skyline Conference doubleheader at Gil Hodges Field, on Friday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.