Sanford, Fla., March 15, 2012 – Case Western Reserve University scored four runs on nine hits in the first three innings and held on to hand the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team its first loss of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship Tournament on Thursday, snapping a 12-game winning streak for the Bears.
Washington U. (12-4, 5-1 UAA) dropped to a tie for first-place with Emory University (12-7, 5-1 UAA) in the UAA standings. The Bears will take on Emory at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday. A win for Washington U. on Friday would clinch at least a share of the program's first UAA title since 2005.
Case Western Reserve scored three runs, all with two outs, on five hits in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 3-0 lead. The Spartans left the bases loaded in the inning. Washington U. got singles by sophomores Kyle Billig and Dylan Reid, and a walk by freshman Zack Kessinger to load the bases in the top of the third, but a foul popup ended the inning for the Bears. Case added to its lead with two singles and a triple in the bottom of the third to make it 4-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, freshman Andrew Goldstick reached on an error by the Spartans' shortstop to lead-off for Washington U. Senior Brandon Rogalski doubled off the wall in left-center field with two outs to score Goldstick and cut the Case lead to 4-1. With two outs in the top of the sixth, junior Matthew Polites was hit by a pitch and freshman Noah Doppelt hit a single. Goldstick followed with an RBI single to right field to make it 4-2, but a strikeout ended the inning. Billig got on base by being hit by a pitch in the top of the ninth inning, but the Bears were unable to put together a rally.
Freshman Dom Quaranta (0-1) took the loss for Washington U. in the game. He pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits. Sophomore Michael Rielly allowed one run on five hits in 1 1/3 innings, before sophomore Brendan Rooney took over to record three strikeouts and scatter five hits in five scoreless innings of work.
Bear Notebook: Both teams left 11 runners on base in the game … Billig's single in the top of the third inning extended his hitting streak to nine games.