St. Louis, Mo., March 2, 2011 – Sophomore Taylor Berman tossed a one-hit shutout in game two as the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team split a doubleheader with Westminster College on Wednesday afternoon at Kelly Field in St. Louis, Mo.
The Bears dropped game one, 3-1, and then rebounded for a 2-0 in the nightcap.
Berman, who was making his first career appearance in a Washington U. uniform, was the story in game two for the Bears. He allowed one hit and just three base runners while striking out eight in the complete-game victory. Matt Mallette's infield single with one out in the top of the second inning was the lone hit of the game for the Bluejays.
"I was able to locate my fastball today and hit my marks," said Berman, who threw just 73 pitches in the win. "I was focused on throwing strikes and giving our team a chance to win."
Washington U. scored first in game two without recording a hit and taking advantage of two errors. Senior Miguel Davis reached on an error to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on the wild throw. Davis stole third and then came home after the throw from catcher Brandon Niederholtmeyer sailed into left field. The Bears added a run in the second after an RBI groundout by sophomore Greg Gleicher.
After Westminster scored an unearned run in the top of the third inning in game one, the Bears tied it up in the fourth after sophomore Stephen Bonser scored on a wild pitch. The Bears loaded the bases with one out in the fourth following a single by junior Joe Noon, but Westminster relief pitcher Josh Dawson got the final two outs on two pitches to keep it a 1-1 game.
Westminster (1-1) took the lead with a run in the sixth following an RBI double down the left field line by Evan White. WUSTL starting pitcher Adam Merzel gave the ball to senior H.T. Flanagan following the hit by White. Flanagan got the first two batters on a sacrifice and a strikeout, but leadoff hitter Monte Gibbs laced a single to center scoring White to make it 3-1.
Seniors Matt Skinner and Travis May led off the bottom of the sixth inning with back-to-back walks, and then advanced to second and third following a sacrifice bunt by Noon. The Bears did not capitalize with runners in scoring position, as Jon Simpher got seniors Matt Bayer and junior Brandon Rogalski to fly out.
Merzel took the loss for Washington University in game one, allowing four hits and two earned runs in five innings pitched. The Bears managed just two hits against four Westminster hurlers. Simpher got the win for Westminster, while Kevin Moritz picked up the save.
Washington University (2-2) begins a five-game stretch against teams ranked in the top-20, as the Bears host 2005 national champion and No. 5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on Thursday, March 3, at 2 p.m.
Bear Notebook: Westminster's win in game one snapped Washington University's 11-game winning streak against the Bluejays dating back to the 2004 season … The victory for head coach Steve Duncan was the second of his career, and first shutout.