Millington, Tenn., May 16, 2012 - An eight-run fifth inning for Webster University was enough to push the Gorloks past the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team, 11-5, in the NCAA Central Regional on Wednesday afternoon at USA Stadium.
Washington U. (28-13) faces Illinois Wesleyan University in an elimination game at Noon on Thursday. The Titans lost to No. 7-ranked and top-seeded Birmingham-Southern College, 7-4, in Wednesday's first game. Illinois Wesleyan held on for a 2-1 win over the Bears when the two teams played on April 24.
Hanging on to a 2-1 lead, Webster plated eight runs on four hits, two walks, two hit by pitches and an error in the top of the fifth inning to take a commanding 10-1 lead. The Bears scored four runs over the next three innings, but the deficit proved to be too much.
Webster scored two runs on three hits to take the lead in the top of the first inning. Washington U. got on the board in the bottom of the third when sophomore Dylan Reid and freshman Noah Doppelt led off with back-to-back singles. Sophomore Kyle Billig followed with an RBI single to left field to make the score 2-1. The Gorloks broke the game open with the eight-run fifth inning to extend their lead to 10-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore Andrew Dwoskin made the score 10-2 with his first home run of the season, a solo shot over the left-field wall as a leadoff pinch hitter. The following inning, senior Brandon Rogalski hit a ground-rule double to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Senior Kevin Paule hit an infield single, and freshman Zack Kessinger hit an RBI single through the left side to make the score 10-3.
The Gorloks added another run in the top of the seventh, before Washington U. got to within 11-5 on RBI doubles by freshman Andrew Goldstick and Paule. The Bears got their first to batters on base with walks in the bottom of the eighth, but a double play and a strikeout ended the inning.
Junior Taylor Berman (3-3) took the loss for the Bears, giving up six runs on seven hits and four walks in four innings. Sophomore Michael Rielly threw three innings of relief, allowing five runs, three earned, on six hits. Junior Ryan Furtick pitched two scoreless innings to end the game, surrendering just two hits.
Rogalski finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored to lead Washington U. offensively. Paule finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Overall, the Bears finished with 11 hits and drew five walks, while Webster had 15 hits and five walks in the game.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. dropped to 3-15 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 0-8 in the first game of regional play … The Bears and Gorloks split two regular-season games, with Washington U. earning a 12-7 win on March 21 and Webster getting a 12-9 victory on April 17 … Washington U. posted double-digit hits for the 28th time this season … Billig's RBI single in the bottom of the third extended his hitting streak to 24 games … He also tied the single-season school record of 59 runs scored set by Cornell Foggie in 1986 when he crossed home in the bottom of the seventh … Rogalski's three hits and five at bats increased his single-season school records to 77 and 174, respectively … Rogalski also increased his career-record hits total to 216.