Sophomore Stephen Bonser tossed a three-hit complete-game shutout in game two to lead the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team to a doubleheader split with Dominican University on Thursday afternoon at Kelly Field in St. Louis, Mo.
Dominican (3-7) broke open a 6-6 tie with six runs in the seventh inning in a 12-6 game one victory, while Washington U. rebounded for a 10-0 win in the nightcap behind Bonser's shutout.
Bonser was in control from the start of the contest, and allowed just one runner to reach third base. He struck out three and walked none as he picked up his second career victory. The Bears had 14 hits in game two, with 12 of the 14 hits coming from the top five batters.
Washington U. struck first in game two scoring three runs on three hits in the first. Freshman Kyle Billig singled and senior Matt Skinner walked to lead off the inning, and then senior Travis May singled home Billig to make it 1-0. Junior Brandon Rogalski tripled to center driving in Skinner, but May was thrown out at the plate. An RBI groundout by senior Matt Bayer pushed the lead to 3-0.
Bayer singled down the left field line scoring Skinner with two outs in the third inning to push the WUSTL lead to 4-0. The Bears added two insurance runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning to round out the scoring.
Rogalski was 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, two runs scored and a pair of triples, while Billig was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Bayer, Skinner and May also added two hits for Washington University in the win.
Dominican scored three runs on two hits in the top of the first inning of game one off WU starter Bryce Hrovat to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The Bears answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning after a two-RBI single by Skinner.
The Bears regained the lead with four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-3 lead. Skinner tied it up with an RBI double to left, and then scored following an RBI single by sophomore Greg Gleicher. Senior Miguel Davis drove in another run with an RBI single to right, and then Gleicher stole home on a double steal.
The Stars scored two runs of Hrovat in the fourth inning, and added run in the fifth off senior Zach Cain to knot the score at 6-6. Hrovat lasted just 3 2/3 innings on the mound for the Bears, allowing three hits and five earned runs. He also walked seven and had three wild pitches.
Cain got through the sixth unscathed, but got in trouble in the seventh. He got the first out of the inning on a pop-up, but a walk and back-to-back singles made it 7-6. Jim Eldridge had the go-ahead RBI single for the Stars. Dominican added three more runs in the inning, two off Cain and three off of junior Michael Fletcher, to move ahead 12-6.
Cain (2-1) took the loss for WUSTL, allowing three hits and four earned runs. The Bears walked 12 batters in the loss but out hit Dominican, 11-10. Skinner was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Billig, David and Gleicher added two hits apiece.
Washington University (7-9) returns to action on Saturday, March 19, with a pair of home games against Milwaukee School of Engineering at 12:30 p.m. and No. 11 ranked Illinois Wesleyan University at 3:30 p.m.