St. Louis, Mo., March 24, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team rallied from an 8-0 deficit to defeat Wheaton College (Ill.) 10-9 in 12 innings, before earning a 7-2 win over UW-Platteville on Saturday afternoon at Kelly Field.
Senior Brandon Rogalski had a huge weekend for the Bears, finishing 7-for-12 at the plate. During Saturday's games, he moved into third on the all-time Washington University career hits list (183). Rogalski also moved into seventh on the career RBIs list (121) and fifth in career stolen bases (44). Senior Kevin Paule went 4-for-5 on Sunday, while freshman Andrew Goldstick was 4-for-10.
Washington U. 10, Wheaton 9 – 12 innings
Wheaton looked like it would cruise to a win over Washington U. after scoring five runs on three hits, including a two-run homerun by Justin Zeller that hit the roof of the dorm in right field, in the top of the first inning. The Thunder stretched their lead to 8-0 with three runs on three hits in the top of the second.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Bears took advantage of a Wheaton error to cut the deficit to 83. Sophomore Kyle Billig hit a lead-off single past second base. With one out, Rogalski hit a fielder's choice to first base, but the first baseman's throw to second went into right-center field, allowing Billig to advance to third. Freshman Zack Kessinger doubled to right field to score Billig. Junior David Madson drove a two-out pitch to right field to score Rogalski and Kessinger, making the score 8-3.
Wheaton added another run on a single and a double in the top of the fifth inning to regain a 9-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Madson hit a one-out single through the right side of the infield. Junior Matthew Polites and Paule drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, and two more walks by freshman Noah Doppelt and Billig scored two runs for the Bears to make it 9-5. Goldstick then hit a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield, and an error on the play allowed Billig to score also, cutting the lead to 9-8.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Billig led off with a single to center field and Goldstick drew a walk. Rogalski hit into a double play, but Billig was able to score from third base, tying the game at 9-9. In the top of the eighth, Wheaton hit back-to-back singles to put its first two runners on base, but freshman Max Zhang got a strikeout, a fly out and a ground out to get out of the inning.
Goldstick and Rogalski each hit one-out singles for the Bears in the bottom of the 12th, before advancing to second and third base on a groundout to first base by Kessinger. Freshman Chris Lowery hit a ball well to center field, and the Wheaton center fielder was unable to come up with the catch as Goldstick sprinted across home plate to win the game for the Bears.
Starting pitcher, sophomore Matt Kenahan, was roughed up for eight runs on five hits in one inning. Just four of the eight runs allowed by Kenahan were earned. Junior Ryan Furtick and Zhang both pitched well in relief, shutting down the Wheaton offense. Furtick allowed just one earned run on seven hits in six innings, while Zhang (2-0) picked up his second win of the season with five scoreless innings, while allowing three hits and recording three strikeouts.
Washington U. 7, UW-Platteville 2
UW-Platteville's lead-off batter, Trevor Kattre, hit a homerun on the first pitch of the game to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead, but Washington U. scored seven-straight runs on its way to earning a 7-2 win.
Billig led off the bottom of the first with a double to right field, and scored on a one-out single by Rogalski that was hit hard just past the pitcher's head. With two outs, Lowery tripled to the gap in right-center field to score Rogalski. After Sophomore Andrew Dwoskin drew a walk, Paule singled up the middle to score Lowery and make it 3-1 in favor of the Bears.'
Washington U. extended its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the thirdon a sacrifice fly by Polites after a one-out double to left-center by Dwoskin. In the bottom of the fifth, Lowery reached on an error by the third baseman to open the inning. After advancing to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball, Lowery scored on a balk by the UW-Platteville pitcher to build the lead to 5-1.
Billig drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the sixth for the Bears, before back-to-back singles by Goldstick and Rogalski. During Lowery's at-bat, Rogalski stole second with Goldstick on third base. On the play, the UW-Platteville second baseman tried to cut-off the throw to second and return it to home in an attempt to get Goldstick, but the ball sailed to the backstop, making the score 7-1. The Pioneers took advantage of a Washington U. error to score an unearned run in the top of the seventh, making the final score 7-2.
After giving up a first-pitch homerun, junior Max Gordon (3-1) settled in to throw seven innings, scattering nine hits and allowing two runs, one unearned, while striking out five to earn the win. Senior Michael Fletcher pitched two shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit, while recording five strikeouts for the Bears.
Washington U. (17-6), who has now won five-straight games, will be back in action with a three-game series against St. Norbert College on Saturday-Sunday, March 31-April 1. The doubleheader on Saturday is scheduled to start at Noon at Kelly Field.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. swept the series against Wheaton, head coach Steve Duncan's alma mater … The five innings pitched was the longest outing for Zhang in nine appearances this season; he has allowed just one run in 17.2 innings this season … Billig had two stolen bases on the day, moving him into third on the all-time Washington U. career list (53).