St. Louis, March 6, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team scored seven runs in the first two innings to power the Bears to their sixth-straight win with a 10-1 victory over Fontbonne University on Tuesday afternoon at Kelly Field.
Washington U. took advantage of two Fontbonne errors in the bottom of the first inning to score three unearned runs for an early 3-0 lead. The Bears added to the lead with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Dylan Reid drew a one-out walk, before three-straight singles by sophomore Kyle Billig, senior Brandon Rogalski, and freshman Zack Kessinger made it 5-0. Rogalski scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by junior David Madson. An RBI single by freshman Brian Cizek extended the Bears' lead to 7-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Washington U. made it 8-0. Senior Kevin Paule hit a two-out double off the wall in left-center field. Reid reached on an error by the Fontbonne third baseman, which moved Paule to third. Paule then scored on a double-steal to give the Bears an 8-0 lead. Fontbonne ended the shutout with back-to-back hits to lead off the top of the sixth inning and make it 8-1. The Bears made it 10-1 with a run each in the bottom of the sixth and the seventh innings.
Junior Stephen Bonser picked up his first win of the season, allowing just one earned run and six hits in six innings of work. Bonser also recorded three strikeouts in the game to bring his team-high season total to 14. Freshman Dom Quaranta pitched the final three innings for the Bears, holding Fontbonne hitless while striking out four of the 10 batters he faced.
Rogalski (3-for-4, three RBIs) and Kessinger (3-for-5, two RBIs, three runs) led Washington U. with three hits each as the Bears recorded 15 hits in the game. Billig reached base all five times he batted, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch, while scoring three runs. Paule also had two hits for Washington U., finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Washington University (6-3) closes out its 10-game home stand against Westminster College on Wednesday, March 7, at 2 p.m.
Bear Notebook: Billig recorded one stolen base in the game to bring his career total to 39, which is two shy of fourth-place on Washington University's career stolen bases list … Rogalski's three RBIs on the day moved him into 10th all-time on Washington U.'s career list.