St. Louis, Mo., April 3, 2015 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team stole five bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, including a triple steal with one out, to earn a 4-2 win over Illinois College Friday afternoon at Kelly Field.
With the score tied at 2-2, senior Andrew Goldstick reached on a four-pitch walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh for the Bears. After fouling off two bunt attempts, sophomore Matt Clohisy reached on a bunt single down the first-base line, and sophomore Austin Darmawan followed with a bunt single that rolled along the third-base line to load the bases. After Illinois College starting pitcher DJ Davis got a bases-loaded strikeout, WashU's three baserunners took off on the first pitch of senior Chris Lowery's at-bat and executed the Bears' second triple steal of the season as Goldstick slid under the tag safely at home to put WashU ahead 3-2. Lowery reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Darmawan to advance to third with two outs. Lowery and Darmawan then took off on a double steal attempt, and Davis threw back to first to try to get Lowery, but the ball sailed to the Blueboys' dugout and Lowery ended up on third after Darmawan scored to extend the Bears' lead to 4-2.
Senior Ian Kelso pitched a scoreless eighth inning for WashU to setup Clohisy, who allowed a walk and recorded one strikeout in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season. With the save, Clohisy tied WashU's all-time single-season saves record set by Jason French in 1992.
After being held without a hit through the first three innings, Illinois College got a leadoff single past second base in the top of the fourth. The next batter lined a double to the gap in left-center to drive in the first run of the game and give the Blueboys a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, senior Zack Kessinger led off with a double to left-center. Senior Brian Cizek followed with a double to right-center that the Illinois College center fielder had bounce off his glove on a diving attempt, moving Kessinger to third. Junior Kyle Kozak lined a single down the third-base line to score Kessinger and Cizek, giving the Bears a 2-1 lead before Kozak was thrown out trying to reach second on the play.
The Blueboys tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth, turning a leadoff double into the tying run. Illinois College had two runners on with one out, but sophomore Scott Nelson was able to get a fly out, before Josh Krumwiede fouled out to Kozak after a long at-bat.
Both teams finished with seven hits in the game, and Illinois College left eight runners on base, while WashU stranded six. Darmawan led WashU by finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Kozak reached base safely three of four times, finishing 1-for-2 with both of the Bears' RBIs. Nelson (4-0) scattered six hits and a walk, allowing two runs, while equaling his career high with eight strikeouts.
WashU improved to 17-6 overall with the win, while Illinois College dropped to 6-9. The Bears continue their nine-game home stand by hosting Spalding University for a doubleheader beginning at Noon Saturday, April 4.
Bear Notebook: The triple steal was the second by WashU this season … With his single in the first inning, Lowery extended his hitting streak to 19 games and moved into a tie with Cornell Foggie (1985-88) for third on WashU's career hits list (205) … Kessinger's hitting streak reached nine games … Kessinger and Lowery have both reached base safely in all 23 games for WashU this season.