GAME ONE | GAME TWO | SENIOR DAY VIDEO

St. Louis, Mo., April 22, 2012 – After dropping a 7-1 contest in game one, the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team rallied for a 9-8 win in eight innings in the second game of a doubleheader against University of Chicago on Sunday afternoon at Kelly Field.

Game One – Chicago 7, Washington U. 1
Washington U., who is ranked No. 19 in the ABCA Collegiate Baseball Poll and No. 24 in the D3Baseball.com Poll, was limited to a season-low three hits in a 7-1 loss in the first game. The Bears scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when sophomore Kyle Billig hit a lead-off single to right field. After stealing second and third, Billig scored on a ground out by senior Brandon Rogalski that gave Washington U. a 1-0 lead.

The Bears maintained the one-run lead until the top of the sixth inning when Chicago took advantage of some WU miscues to score seven runs on three hits. Junior Stephen Bonser, who limited the Maroons to three hits through the first five innings, hit three batters in the sixth inning that allowed Chicago to tie the game. The Maroons took the lead on an error, and kept the inning alive when a dropped third strike on what would have been the third out of the inning kept the inning alive and gave them a 3-1 lead. The next batter for Chicago made the Bears pay with a three-RBI double, and an RBI single extended the lead to 7-1. Washington U. was unable to answer as Chicago earned the 7-1 win.

Bonser (5-3) took the loss for the Bears, allowing seven runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits and two walks. He also recorded five strikeouts in the game. Sophomore Michael Rielly pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for Washington U., allowing one hit while striking out two.

Game Two – Washington U. 9, Chicago 8 (8 innings)
The Maroons picked up in game two where they left off in the first game, with their first three batters recording hits as they took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The score remained 2-0 in favor of Chicago until a big inning for Washington U. in the bottom of the fourth.

In that inning, sophomore Andrew Dwoskin was hit by a pitch and senior Kevin Paule drew a walk before junior Greg Gleicher hit an RBI single through the right side of the infield to get the Bears on the scoreboard. After Gleicher stole second, Paule tied the game on a ground out by sophomore Dylan Reid. Gleicher then scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Matthew Polites to give Washington U. a 3-2 lead.

Chicago answered in the top of the fifth, scoring five runs on seven hits and an error to open up a 7-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, freshman Chris Lowery reached on a one-out single to the shortstop before scoring on a triple to right field by Rogalski. Dwoskin struck out swinging, but reached base on a wild pitch that the Chicago catcher was unable to stop, which also allowed Rogalski to score from third. Paule followed with a single through the left side, and he and Dwoskin moved up on a balk by the Maroons' pitcher. Gleicher came through again with a two-RBI single up the middle that tied the game at 7-7.

In the top of the sixth, Chicago scored one run on two hits to reclaim the lead, 8-7. The Bears again found a way to answer in the bottom of the inning when Dwoskin was hit by a pitch with two outs. Sophomore Joseph Krumholz pinch ran for Dwoskin. Krumholz stole second, and advanced to third when the Chicago catcher's throw to second went into center field. After Paule drew a walk, he coaxed the Chicago defense into throwing over for a pick-off attempt, and Krumholz was able to score the tying run just before Paule slid safely into second base.

Neither team was able to score in the seventh inning, forcing the game to go to the eighth. Rogalski was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a ground out. Paule was intentionally walked, ahead of a pinch-hit single by freshman Brian Cizek to right-center field that loaded the bases. Reid flied out to left-center field to give the Bears bases loaded with two outs. The next batter, Polites drew a walk to score Rogalski from third and give Washington U. the 9-8 win.

Rogalski, who came in to pitch in the seventh inning, earned the win on the mound for the Bears, allowing one hit in two innings of work. Lowery, Rogalski and Gleicher each recorded two hits in the game for the Bears, with Gleicher tallying three RBIs. Polites had two RBIs, despite finishing 0-for-2 at the plate with two walks.

Washington U. (24-11) travels to Bloomington, Ill., to take on Illinois Wesleyan University on Tuesday, April 24. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Bear Notebook: The win in game two ended a four-game losing skid for the Bears, their longest of the season … After stealing just two bases during Saturday's doubleheader against the Maroons, Washington U. recorded nine steals in Sunday's doubleheader … With a hit in each game, Billig extended his team-leading hitting streak to 18 games … Rogalski's two hits in the second game brought his career total to 204, which is one hit shy of the Washington University all-time career record … Billig had two stolen bases in each game, giving him a team-best 31 this season, which is three shy of his own single-season school record.