Luebcke Fans 10 Over Nine Strong, But Baseball Falls to Brandeis in Extras

AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Senior Brian Luebcke (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) fanned 10 in a nine-inning gem, but the St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) baseball team allowed another early lead slip away against Brandeis, falling 4-3 in an 11-inning pitcher's battle in Auburndale, Florida on Thursday morning.

The Basics

• Final Score (11 innings): Brandeis 4, St. Joseph's 3
• Records: Brandeis (2-0), St. Joseph's (0-4)
• Date: February 18, 2016
• Location: Auburndale, Fla.
• Field: Lake Myrtle Park

How it Happened

• In the top of the first inning, after the first two batters reached, Brian Luebcke opened scoring with a RBI-double. John Condon followed with an RBI-groundout and Nicholas LoPrinzi then plated Luebcke with another double to cap a three-run first.
• Brandeis got two back in the third inning after Rob Trenk's two-out single drove home a pair.
• With the Bears' offense silent, Trenk delivered with two outs once again in the fifth, driving a run scoring single to left-center to even the score.
• Knotted at 3-all, dominant pitching would move to the forefront as the game headed to extras.
• In the bottom of the 11th, after a pair of one-out singles from Brandeis put the winning run in scoring position, consecutive wild pitches from the Bears allowed the Judges to escape with another dramatic, 4-3 victory.

For the Bears

• Brian Luebcke, John Condon and Nicholas LoPrinzi recorded one RBI each to account for the Bears' scoring, all in the first inning.
• Luebcke, LoPrinzo and Jonathan Arroyo connected for one double apiece.
• In addition to his offensive contribution, Luebcke dazzled with a 10-strikeout, nine-inning gem in which he allowed three runs, only one of them earned. The nine-inning effort was the longest of his career and the 10 strikeouts were also a career-best.

For the Judges

• Rob Trenk drove in three of Brandeis' four runs, finishing 4-for-5 with the lumber. He delivered the game tying swing in the fifth inning, and scored the winning run in the 11th.
• After St. Joseph's three-run first, Bradley Bousquet and Liam Coughlin shut down the Bears in relief. They combined for seven scoreless innings, with Coughlin recording the win.

Inside the Box Score

• After a three-run first-inning outburst, the Bears managed just four hits and were held scoreless for the 10 innings that followed.
• Seven different Bears recorded hits as Brandeis out-slugged St. Joseph's 11-7.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's falls to 0-4 after dropping their second consecutive meeting against the Judges by a 4-3 margin.
• The Bears have held leads in their past three contests and have lost their four games by an average margin of just 1.5 runs.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

• St. Joseph's closes out their Florida trip tomorrow, February 19 at 9 a.m. with the last of a three-game set against Brandeis. Live stats will be available on SJCBears.com.