ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Head coach Pat Bloom of the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team recorded his 600th career victory in game one against Gustavus Adolphus College, Saturday, March 16. His Bears took both ends of the double dip, 6-4 and 14-8, to up its record to 12-4 on the year. The Gusties record dipped to 7-4 with the two loses.
Game One: (RV) WashU 6, (RV) Gustavus Adolphus 4
WashU outhit the Gusties by a final tally of 12-7. Junior Brandon Buday, junior Dax Braemer, and senior Magnus Dunn each produced a 3-for-4 contest at the plate. Graduate student Evan Minarovic notched three RBI in the contest.
First year Townsend Stevenson got the nod on the bump for the Bears. Stevenson tossed four innings, racked up five strikeouts, and allowed two runs.
Sophomore Miles Quemuel-Labrador took the win (1-0) on the mound, logging four innings out the bullpen. Quemuel-Labrador scattered four hits, struck out three, and allowed one run.
The Gusties cracked the scoreboard in the top of the second on a two RBI single to center. After one and a half in the books, Gustavus took the 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the second, senior Kaden Bernhard belted a leadoff homer that just cleared the right center fence to trim the deficit in half, 2-1. The round tripper marked Bernhard's second straight contest with a homer.
Gustavus added an unearned run in the top of the fifth to take the 3-1 advantage as the game progressed to the bottom of the fifth.
WashU took its first lead in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run homer off the bat of Minarovic. Braemer led off the inning with a single up the middle, then Dunn singled to left to set up first and second, with no one out. Digging into the box, Minarovic sent a ball deep to right center that just flew over the fence in right center as Braemer and Dunn jogged home on the round tripper. The homer marked Minarovic's second four bagger of the season. After the long ball, WashU took the 4-3 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Bernhard reached safely on a single through the left side. Bernhard then swiped second and advanced to third on a throwing error from the Gustavus catcher. With a runner on third, Braemer notched a single to left to allow Bernhard to cross the plate to give the Bears a two-run, 5-3, lead.
WashU added another run in the sixth on a Buday line drive single to center to up its lead to three, 6-3. With Braemer on first, Dunn placed a perfectly executed bunt and he beat the throw to first to set up first and second. After a fielder's choice, Buday poked a single to center as Braemer scored. After six innings of play, WashU held the 6-3 cushion.
The Bears turned a big double play in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and second, and no one out, Quemuel-Labrador induced a 4-3 double play as senior Clayton Miller stepped on the bag at second and fired a strike to first. WashU clung to a three-run, 6-3, lead going into the bottom of the seventh.
Miller switched from second to the mound in the ninth and preserved the 6-4 victory for the Bears. Miller earned his fourth save of the season.
Game Two: (RV) WashU 12, (RV) Gustavus Adolphus, 8
In the nightcap, WashU outhit the Gusties by a final tally of 15-9. Sophomore Shane Pellegrino fueled the offense with his 4-for-5 showing at the dish. Dunn enjoyed a three-hit game, while Miller and Minarovic both added two hits.
On the mound, first year Zach Pearl secured his first collegiate victory (1-0) with his 1.1 innings out of the bullpen. Sophomore Josh Holt spun an effective three inning relief appearance, allowing just one hit and one run.
The Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with just one out. Pellegrino and Miller each produced a single, while Bernhard drew a walk. Pellegrino scampered home on a Gusties wild pitch to get the scoring started. After the wild pitch, senior Harry Mauterer placed a bouncing ball that just slid by the third base bag in fair territory for a two RBI double to push WashU's first inning lead to three, 3-0.
With runners now on first and third, with two outs, the Bears manufactured a balk from the Gustavus Adoplus pitcher which allowed Mauterer to jog home. WashU, continued to pad its lead in the first by scoring two more times to put its advantage at 6-0.
The Gusties cut WashU's lead in half in the top of the second by scoring three runs to put the scoreboard at 6-3, in favor of the Bears.
WashU scored a run in the bottom of the second. With first and third, and two outs, Bloom put Braemer in motion which drew a throw to second by the Gusties catcher. Braemer got in a run down, which allowed Bernhard to race home as Braemer was tagged out after Bernhard crossed the plate. The Bears took the 7-3 lead heading into the third.
The Gusties manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to put the score at 10-6. In the top of the fifth, an RBI single by Gustavus trimmed WashU's cushion to three, 10-7, as the game went to the bottom of the fifth
Pellegrino roped a ground-rule double in the bottom of the sixth to put himself into scoring position for Bernhard. With two down, Bernhard went with an outside offering and deposited it into the right center gap for an RBI double to up WashU's lead to four, 11-7.
In the bottom of the seventh, Dunn got things going with a two out single to center. Dunn later swiped second and scooted to third on a wild pitch. Sophomore Conner Lindsey produced an RBI triple as the Gusties left fielder dove for the line drive, but the hit evaded his mit and rolled to the wall as Lindsey motored to third to put the score at 12-7, in favor of WashU.
The Gusties scored a run in the top of the eighth on and RBI groundout to second. The Bears held the four-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, Pellegrino led off the frame a single to third. Next to bat for the Bears, Miller found a pitch to his liking and sent it well over the left center field fence for a two-run round tripper. The homer iced the game for WashU, putting its lead to six, 14-8.
Junior Hank Weiss came out of the bullpen and did not allow the potent Gusties offense to make a comeback. Weiss ended the contest with a strikeout to seal the 14-8 victory for the Bears.
WashU will close out the four-game series, tomorrow, Sunday, March 17 with another doubleheader against Gustavus Adolphus. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Kelly Field.