St. Louis, Mo., April 6, 2013 – After dropping game one of the doubleheader against No. 15-ranked Webster University 19-7, the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team used a big fourth inning to win the second game against the Gorloks 8-6 Saturday afternoon at Kelly Field.
Webster 19, Washington U. 7
Webster turned a leadoff triple into a run in the top of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Bears answered in the bottom of the inning with four runs on four hits, while sending nine batters to the plate. Sophomore Noah Doppelt led off the inning with a single to second base. Freshman Max Golembo hit a one-out single and sophomore Andrew Goldstick drew a walk to load the bases. Junior Kyle Billig followed with a two-RBI double to the gap in left-center field to give Washington U. a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Chris Lowery reached on an error that scored Goldstick, and sophomore Zack Kessinger singled through the right side to put the Bears ahead 4-1.
The Gorloks broke the game open in the top of the fourth with seven runs on eight hits, including a pair of homeruns, to take an 8-4 lead. Washington U. answered with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning. Doppelt and senior David Madson hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, and Golembo drew a walk to load the bases. Goldstick followed with an RBI single through the left side. Billig and Lowery hit back-to-back groundouts that scored runs to bring the Bears to within 8-7, but Webster scored five runs on four hits and an error in the top of the fifth to make it 13-7. The Gorloks added three runs each in the seventh and eighth innings to finish with the 19-7 win.
Offensively, the Bears had eight different players record hits in the game, led by Doppelt's 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Sophomore Brandon Deger (2-for-4) also had two hits for Washington U. Billig (1-for-4) accounted for three RBIs, while Lowery (0-for-4) had two. Senior Stephen Bonser (4-2) took the loss for the Bears, allowing eight runs, including two unearned, on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. Seniors Ryan Furtick, Matt Tracy and Alan Komorowski, junior Matt Kenahan, and sophomore Ian Kelso combined to throw the final 5 2/3 innings of relief.
Washington U. 8, Webster 6
Webster jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings of game two. The Gorloks recorded six hits in the first three innings, before the Washington U. pitchers shut down the Gorloks, limiting them to just four hits in the final six innings.
Trailing 5-0, the Bears scored seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to take the lead. Washington U. got four-straight singles by Deger, senior Kevin Paule, Doppelt and Madson to start the inning. Senior Matthew Polites drew a walk to score Paule, and Goldstick singled to left-center to drive in Doppelt. Billig reached on a fielder's choice that scored Madson. After Lowery drew a walk to load the bases, Polites scored on a wild pitch. Kessinger then hit a two-RBI single down the right-field line to put the Bears ahead 7-5.
Washington U. added a run in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Billig to extend the lead to 8-6. The Gorloks cut the lead to 8-6 in the top of the sixth on a two-out RBI single. Senior Taylor Berman and sophomore Max Zhang shut down Webster's offense in the final three innings to seal the win for the Bears.
Sophomore Dom Quaranta (4-0) remained unbeaten on the mound for the Bears, allowing six runs, only two earned, on eight hits and four walks. Quaranta equaled his career high with six strikeouts in six innings of work. Berman recorded two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh inning, and Zhang picked up his fourth save of the season, recording one strikeout in two innings of work. Goldstick (2-for-5, RBI), Kessinger (2-for-5, two RBI), Deger (2-for-3, run), Paule (2-for-4, run), and Madson (2-for-3, run, RBI) each recorded two hits for the Bears. Billig and Kessinger had two RBIs each.
Washington U. (16-10) returns to action at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 10, in Terre Haute, Ind.
Bear Notebook: The Bears' win in game two snapped Webster's 13-game winning streak … Washington U. has recorded double-digit hits 14 times this season, and is 11-3 in those games … Billig's two runs scored on the day brought his career total to 128, which is six shy of a tie for seventh on the Washington U. all-time career list … With hits in both games, Goldstick has now reached base in 19-straight games.