Sanford, Fla., March 12, 2011 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team overcame an early 4-0 deficit then staved off a late University of Rochester rally to pick up an 8-7 victory at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship on Saturday afternoon in Sanford, Fla.
The Bears trailed 4-0 through an inning and a half against the Yellowjackets but surged back to tie the game at 4-4 then scored four more unanswered runs over a four inning stretch to take an 8-6 lead.
Washington University scored three runs in the bottom of the second to pull within 4-3. Sophomore Greg Gleicher came through with a one-out single to right field, scoring junior Joe Noon and senior Matt Bayer. Two batters later Gleicher was caught in a rundown on an attempt to steal second base, and sophomore David Madson used heads up base running to score from third before Gleicher was tagged out.
The Bears faced a 6-5 deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth, when the they hung two more runs on the board thanks to four Rochester errors to take their first lead of the afternoon. Senior Miguel Davis reached base thanks to an error by Rochester shortstop Alex Caghan, and moved over to third when pitcher Charles Chanatry threw the ball away on a failed pickoff attempt.
The third error, this time on a Kyle Billig ground ball to second base, enabled Davis to score from third and provided the Bears with another base runner. Once Billig had moved over to third base, junior Brandon Rogalski attempted to steal second, leading to a Tyler DeClerck error, Rochester's fourth of the inning, which allowed Billig to score from third.
Gleicher picked up his third RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to right field in the seventh to put the Bears up by two, and after Rochester's first two batters in the top of the ninth reached base, senior H.T. Flanagan came in to seal the win and pick up his second save of the season.
Senior Zach Cain earned the win for the Bears, improving to 1-1 on the year. Taking over for starter Taylor Berman midway through the fourth inning, Cain allowed just one hit with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work. Gleicher finished the day 1-for-3 at the plate with a team-high three RBI's, while Rogalski (2-for-4) and Bayer (2-for-3) each finished with a multi-hit day.
Washington University (5-6, 2-1 UAA) continues play in the UAA Championship on Sunday, March 13, when it will face Case Western Reserve University at Sanford Memorial Stadium in Sanford, Fla., at 11 a.m. (ET).