Sanford, Fla., March 10, 2013 – Sophomore Zack Kessinger hit the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team a 5-4 win over Brandeis University Sunday evening on the first day of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship Tournament in Sanford, Fla.
With the score knotted at 4-4 heading to the final inning, Brandeis got back-to-back two-out singles to put runners on first and third. Sophomore Dom Quaranta recorded his third strikeout of the game to end the threat and keep the score tied heading to the Bears' half of the ninth. Freshman Max Golembo got a one-out single to right field and sophomore Chris Lowery followed with a single down the left-field line that moved Golembo to third. Kessinger then singled through the right side of the infield to score Golembo and give Washington U. the 5-4 win.
The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings of play on RBIs by sophomores Andrew Goldstick, Brian Cizek and Lowery. In the bottom of the fourth, junior Kyle Billig hit a two-out single and stole second to make him Washington University's all-time career steals leader. Billig has recorded 73 steals in 93 games in his career, eclipsing the previous school record of 72 steals set by Steve Nussbaum (1979-82).
In the top of the fifth, Brandeis took advantage of a pair of Washington U. errors to score two unearned runs with two outs and cut the Bears' lead to 3-2. Washington U. got one run back in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Noah Doppelt drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a groundout by Billig to make it 4-2. In the top of the seventh, the Judges got a leadoff single and scored back-to-back runs on a one-out RBI triple followed by a sacrifice fly to tie the score at 4-4.
Quaranta (1-0) picked up his first-career win, throwing two shutout innings and allowing two hits while striking out three. Senior Max Gordon pitched five innings, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and three walks, while recording four strikeouts. Senior Ryan Furtick relieved Gordon in the sixth, and threw two innings, allowing two runs on two hits, while striking out three.
Kessinger and Lowery both went 3-for-5 at the plate for the Bears. Lowery had an RBI and a run, and Kessinger added the game-winning RBI. Golembo finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Washington U. outhit Brandeis, 11-6.
Washington U. (5-3, 1-0 UAA) continues play in the UAA Championship at 4 p.m. (ET) Monday against Emory University. The Eagles (6-7, 0-2 UAA) lost 4-3 in 10 innings against the University of Rochester and 7-4 against Case Western Reserve University in Sunday's other two games at the UAA Tournament.
Bear Notebook: It marked Lowery's fifth multiple-hit game of the season … Washington U. has won the last four games against Brandeis.