Cedar Rapids, Iowa, April 29, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team earned a 5-4 win over Coe College and an 11-7 win over Grinnell College in two games at Daniels Park in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.
Washington U. 5, Coe 4
The Bears got on the board in the top of the first inning when sophomore Kyle Billig and freshman Andrew Goldstick hit back-to-back singles to lead-off the inning. Billig came around to score on a groundout by senior Brandon Rogalski, giving Washington U. a 1-0 lead.
Coe jumped on Washington U. starting pitcher junior Stephen Bonser early, scoring three runs on two hits and two walks in the bottom of the first. Bonser settled in to scatter four hits over the next five innings while holding the Kohawks scoreless in those innings. In the top of the fourth inning, Rogalski hit a one-out solo homerun over the right-center field fence to cut the lead to 3-2. The Bears tied the game in the top of the fifth when Billig hit a two-out triple off the fence in center field and Goldstick followed with an RBI double to the gap in right-center.
In the top of the seventh, Washington U. regained the lead (5-3) with two runs on three hits and an error. Sophomore Dylan Reid hit a one-out single down the right-field line and sophomore Andrew Dwoskin reached on an error. Billig followed with a double to center field to score Reid. Goldstick hit a single to left field that scored Dwoskin, but Billig was called out on a close play at the plate, making the score 5-3.
In the bottom of the inning, Coe got its first three batters on base with singles. A sacrifice fly scored a run to cut the Bears' lead to 5-4. With runners on second and third and one out, Coe's Adam Nisenson hit a grounder to Goldstick at shortstop and the runner on second took off, allowing Goldstick to tag him for the second out. Bonser then got a fly out down the left-field line to get out of the inning with the 5-4 lead as the Kohawks left runners on first and third.
Coe got the tying runner to second base with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. JD Hunter then singled to center field, but junior Matthew Polites threw the runner from second out at home to end the inning. The Bears got a pair of hits in the top of the ninth, but were unable to add to their lead. In the bottom of the inning, freshman Max Zhang got two groundouts and a fly out to right field to seal the win for the Bears.
Bonser (6-3) earned the win for the Bears, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks, while recording three strikeouts in seven innings of work. Zhang picked up his third save of the season, allowing two hits in two scoreless innings of relief. Billig went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Goldstick was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Rogalski also had two RBIs, while finishing 1-for-4 at the plate.
Washington U. 11, Grinnell 7
After Grinnell scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 7-7, the Bears scored four runs on five hits and an error to take the lead (11-7) and hang on for the win. Freshman Chris Lowery, Rogalski and freshman Zack Kessinger hit three-straight doubles, and senior Kevin Paule and sophomore Oliver Lowry hit back-to-back singles to put the Bears back on top, 11-7.
Billig led-off the game with a single, and stole second and third before scoring on a single by Lowery to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Grinnell took the lead in the bottom of the second (2-1) with two unearned runs. Washington U. answered with two runs on three hits in the top of the third to regain the lead on RBIs by Goldstick and Kessinger.
An RBI groundout by senior Greg Gleicher in the top of the fourth extended the lead to 4-2. In the top of the sixth, three-straight two-out singles by Billig, Goldstick and Lowery made the score 5-2. In the top of the seventh inning, an RBI single by Lowry and a sacrifice fly by Dwoskin gave Washington U. a five-run advantage (7-2). Grinnell took advantage of a WU error early in the bottom of the inning to score five unearned runs and tie the score 7-7.
Senior Michael Fletcher (1-0) picked up the win, allowing one hit and no runs in 1/3 of an inning of relief. Rogalski finished out the final two innings, recording three strikeouts and giving up one hit. Junior Taylor Berman threw 6 2/3 innings in his eighth start of the season. He allowed seven runs, all unearned, on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out seven. Lowery (5-for-6, 2 RBIs, run) led seven Washington U. batters with multiple hits in the game. Rogalski (3-for-6, RBI, run) and Lowry (3-for-5, 3 RBIs, run) each had three hits.
Washington U. (27-12) concludes its regular-season schedule by hosting Fontbonne University at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1, at Kelly Field. The Bears earned a 10-1 win over Fontbonne on March 6.
Bear Notebook: The Bears recorded double-digit hits in both games, giving them 26 games with 10 or more hits this season … Billig tied his own single-season school record for stolen bases (34-of-35) with two steals against Grinnell, and moved to within four steals of tying the WU career record … Billig recorded hits in each game to extend his hitting streak to 22 games … With three double plays on the day, Washington U. is now three shy of tying the single-season school record … Rogalski increased his career hits record to 212 and moved to within one hit of tying his own single-season record with four hits on the day.