Sauget, Ill., April 16, 2013 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team outhit NCAA Division I Saint Louis University 12-8, but the Bears left 13 baserunners stranded as the Billikens earned a 5-4 win on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday evening at GCS Ballpark.
After Washington U. got the bases loaded with one out in the top of the ninth inning and was unable to score, the Billikens came back to do the same in the bottom of the inning. Mike Levine was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and TJ Verdum also drew a walk. After Alec Sole laid down a sacrifice bunt, Michael Bozarth was intentionally walked, and Alex Kelly drew a full-count walk to score the game-winning run.
Sophomore Max Zhang (1-1) took the loss for Washington U., surrendering one run on three walks 1/3 inning. Senior Matt Tracy made the start on the mound for the Bears, giving up two earned runs on three hits and two walks in three innings. Sophomore Dom Quaranta threw five strong innings of relief, striking out a career-high seven batters, while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks.
Sophomore Zack Kessinger led the Bears offensively, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Freshman Max Golembo (2-for-4, walk, RBI) and sophomore Chris Lowery (2-for-5, triple, run) added two hits each for Washington U. Four different players recorded doubles for the Bears – Kessinger, senior Matthew Polites, and juniors Andrew Dwoskin and Dylan Reid.
SLU got on the board first with a solo homerun by Mike Vigliarolo on a high fly ball that just cleared the fence in right-center field in the bottom of the second inning. The Billikens added to their lead with a solo shot by Jake Henson that made it 2-0 in the bottom of the third.
In the top of the fourth, Lowery led off with a triple to right field when Kelly lost the ball in the lights. Kessinger put the Bears on the board with a hard-hit single off the pitcher that scored Lowery. Dwoskin kept the inning alive with a one-out double down the left-field line, but Kessinger was called out at third on the play. Senior David Madson drew a walk, and Reid followed with a two-out double to right-center field that scored Dwoskin to tie the game at 2-2. Golembo then singled through the left side to put the Bears ahead 3-2.
Junior Kyle Billig led off the top of the fifth with a walk. After moving to second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout, Billig scored on a single to right-center field by sophomore Brandon Deger to make it 4-2. Dwoskin and Madson drew back-to-back two-out walks to load the bases, but a groundout ended the inning for Washington U.
Quaranta retired the first seven batters he faced before the Billikens hit their third homerun of the day to the same spot just over the right-center field fence to make the score 4-3. A single, walk and another single by SLU tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth.
In the bottom of the seventh, SLU mounted a threat when Bozarth hit a two-out double to left-center field and Kelly walked, but Quaranta struck out Grant Nelson to end the inning and keep the score tied at 4-4. In the top of the ninth, Kessinger hit a one-out single through the right side, and Polites hit a ground-rule double deep down the right-field line to put runners on second and third. Dwoskin was intentionally walked to load the bases, but the Billikens turned a 5-2-3 double play to get out of the inning and preserve the 4-4 tie.
Washington U. (17-11) is scheduled to return to action hosting Blackburn College at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Kelly Field.
Bear Notebook: SLU also earned a 5-4 win in the bottom of the ninth inning the last time the two teams played (Feb. 27, 2011) in head coach Steve Duncan's first game at Washington U. … The Bears have recorded double-digit hits 16 times this season, including the last four games in a row, and are 12-4 in those games … Goldstick extended his reached base streak to 21 games … The double for Reid in the fourth was his first extra-base hit of the season.