St. Louis, Mo., March 29, 2013 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team finished with a doubleheader split against Grinnell College Saturday afternoon at Kelly Field. After suffering a 3-2 loss in game one, the Bears rallied with four runs in the seventh and eighth innings to earn a 4-2 win in game two.
Washington U. (13-7) returns to action with two more games Saturday, March 30, at Kelly Field. The Bears take on Grinnell (4-8) at 9:30 a.m. to open the day. Grinnell and St. Norbert College (7-4) square off at 12:15 p.m., followed by Washington U. vs. St. Norbert at 3.
Grinnell 3, Washington U. 2
Washington U. took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Max Golembo reached on a one-out walk, before stealing second. Sophomore Chris Lowery then hit a two-out single to the infield, and sophomore Zack Kessinger followed with an RBI single to center field to give the Bears the lead.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth inning, when Grinnell strung together three hits to tie the game. The Pioneers took the lead in the top of the eighth when a leadoff walk came around to score on a one-out single to make it 2-1. Grinnell added a run in the top of the ninth to extend the lead to 3-1. The Pioneers again got their leadoff batter aboard, then had a single and an RBI double both with two outs to make it a two-run game.
Washington U. rallied in the bottom of the ninth, but left the winning run on second base to end the game. Senior Kevin Paule reached on an error to start the inning, and sophomore Brian Cizek drilled a pinch-hit single down the left-field line. After a passed ball, junior Andrew Dwoskin drove in a run with a bloop single to the gap in left center to bring the Bears to within 3-2. Freshman Kyle Kozak reached on a fielder's choice, but the tying run was thrown out at home plate. Sophomore Andrew Goldstick followed with a fielder's choice that put runners on the corners with two outs. He then stole second, but a strikeout ended the game and sealed the win for Grinnell.
Senior Stephen Bonser threw seven innings in his sixth start of the season for the Bears, allowing one run on 10 hits. He walked one batter while recording eight strikeouts. Senior Alan Komorowski (0-1) took the loss for the Bears, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out three, in one inning of relief. Senior Ryan Furtick threw the final inning for Washington U., surrendering one run on three hits in the top of the ninth. Lowery and Kessinger both went 2-for-4 in the game to lead the Bears offensively. Grinnell out-hit Washington U. 14-9. The Pioneers left 13 runners stranded, while Washington U. left nine runners on base.
Washington U. 4, Grinnell 2
In the second game of the doubleheader, it was Grinnell who struck first, taking advantage of two Washington U. errors to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Pioneers added a run in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 2-0. In that inning, Grinnell third baseman Kainoa Inafuku hit a one-out double and first baseman Walker Bell followed with an RBI single for the Pioneers.
Washington U.'s offense was stymied through much of the second game, as Grinnell starter Will Pahos limited the Bears to two hits through the first six innings of play. In the bottom of the seventh, Cizek hit a leadoff single to right-center field and sophomore Brandon Deger reached on an error by Inafuku that put runners on second and third with no outs for Washington U. Dwoskin grounded out to score Cizek, before Komorowski drew a two-out walk. Junior Kyle Billig then recorded his first hit of the day, a single up the middle, to tie the game at 2-2 before a fielder's choice ended the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Grinnell got its leadoff batter on first with a single. After a sacrifice bunt moved pinch runner Yuki Kawahara to second, left fielder Ryan Penaflor hit a single up the middle that barely cleared Goldstick as he leaped for the catch. Billig quickly scooped the ball in shallow center and made a perfect throw to Lowery at third to get Kawahara out on the play. The Pioneers got another single in the inning, but a fielder's choice ended the threat.
The Bears took the lead in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs on two hits and an error. Lowery hit a one-out single to center field, and advanced to second on a passed ball. Senior Matthew Polites then hit a two-out single through the left side to score Lowery and give the Bears the 3-2 lead. Polites moved to second on the play, before scoring when junior Dylan Reid reached on an error.
After senior Taylor Berman threw eight solid innings for the Bears, sophomore Max Zhang pitched the ninth inning. Inafuku reached on a one-out walk, but Zhang got a popup and a called strikeout to end the game and earn the save for the Bears. Berman (2-2) scattered eight hits in his eight innings of work, allowing one earned run. He walked three, while recording three strikeouts. Cizek was 2-for-4 with a run, while Polites finished 1-for-1 with an RBI and two runs scored. Grinnell out-hit the Bears 8-6, but were hurt by four errors in the game.
Bear Notebook: The Bears' run in the first inning of game one was the 10th time this season they have put a run up in the first inning … Lowery has had 12 multiple-hit games for Washington U. this season … Goldstick and Lowery have each reached base in their last 13 games in a row … Kessinger extended his hitting streak to 12 games, before having it end in game two.