Sanford, Fla., March 10, 2014 – Eight different players recorded hits for the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team as the Bears earned an 8-3 win over Brandeis University Monday afternoon at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship Tournament at Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Washington U. took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Sophomore Max Golembo drew a leadoff walk and stole second before moving to third on a groundout. Junior Zack Kessinger drove a 2-1 pitch to the gap in left-center field for an RBI double to score Golembo. The Bears loaded the bases with two outs, but a flyout ended the inning. In the top of the third, junior Chris Lowery led off with a walk and advanced to third on a single through the right side by Kessinger. Freshman CJ Price hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Lowery slid under the tag at the plate to put the Bears ahead 2-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Brandeis got runners on first and second with two outs on an error and a single. The Judges' designated hitter Dan Gad singled to shallow left field, but junior Brandon Deger threw out Greg Heineman at home to end the inning and preserve the shutout for the Bears. Washington U. added a run in the top of the fifth when Golembo hit a leadoff single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Lowery. Brandeis got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning with a two-out RBI single to cut the Bears' lead to 3-1.
In the top of the sixth, senior Andrew Dwoskin and Price hit back-to-back singles, and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by junior Andrew Goldstick. Senior Dylan Reid came through with a two-out single on a bloop hit to shallow center field to score Dwoskin and Price and extend the Bears' lead to four runs. Brandeis used a pair of singles to score a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-2. The Judges added another run in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to 5-3, but freshman Brad Margolin got a foul out, flyout and called strikeout with the tying run at first base to end the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Lowery, Kessinger, Dwoskin and Price drew four consecutive two-out walks to score a run. Goldstick followed with a two-RBI double to left-center to make it 8-3 before a strikeout ended the inning. Margolin allowed a one-out hit in the bottom of the ninth, but the Bears turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and seal the win.
Washington U. finished with 10 hits in the game, compared with 12 for the Judges. The Bears took advantage of nine walks issued by the Brandeis pitchers, while Washington U. surrendered just one walk on the day. The Washington U. defense also turned three double plays in the game.
Price went 2-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs and a run scored. Kessinger finished 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, an RBI and a run. Goldstick (1-for-3) and Reid (1-for-4) also accounted for two RBIs each. Senior Matt Tracy (1-0) picked up the win in his first start of the season. He threw six complete innings, allowing two runs, while scattering eight hits and a walk and striking out two. Freshman Nick Gollin came in to relieve Tracy in the seventh inning, and gave up one unearned run on three hits while recording one strikeout. Margolin earned the first save of his career with two shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one.
Washington U. improved to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the UAA with the win, while Brandeis dropped to 4-4 and 0-2 in the conference. The Bears return to action to face Emory University for the second time this week at 5 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, March 11. The Eagles earned a 7-3 victory over the Bears in the first game of the UAA Championship Sunday.
Bear Notebook: Dwoskin extended his hitting streak to 11 games, while Golembo's hitting streak reached nine games, both dating to last season … Kessinger extended his reached base streak to 25 games … Dwoskin, Golembo and Kessinger have all reached base safely in each of the Bears' seven games.