Cleveland, Ohio, April 14, 2017 – The No. 16 ranked Washington University in St. Louis baseball team split a doubleheader at Case Western Reserve University Friday afternoon in its second University Athletic Association (UAA) series of the season, winning 1-0 in the opening game before falling 5-1 in the second at Nobby's Ballpark.
Following the doubleheader, WashU is 17-7 overall with a UAA leading 5-1 record while Case Western is behind the Bears at 16-13 overall including 10-4 record within the UAA. Senior Brad Margolin threw his second consecutive complete game shutout, allowing two hits and one walk compared to five strikeouts in the Bears opening win.
Game 1: WashU 1 – Case Western 0
The Bears scored the first run of the series in the top of the seventh inning. Senior Austin Darmawan reached base on a throwing error by the Spartans' third baseman to lead things off before a sacrifice bunt by junior Auggie Mense advanced him into scoring position. Senior cleanup hitter Christian Santos singled to right field allowing Darmawan to score and give WashU a 1-0 advantage.
Margolin was perfect through three innings of play before walking a Spartan in the bottom of the fourth inning. Altogether he threw seven perfect three-up three-down innings in route to his sixth victory of the season.
The Spartans threatened in the fifth inning with two base runners on with one-out but Margolin erased the lead runner with his sixth pickoff of the season. He got the next batter to swing through the third strike for the fifth inning's final out.
Margolin's second consecutive complete game shutout victory over UAA competition earned him the 20th victory of his career and pushed him into a tie for eighth place in WashU history for career wins. He is tied with WashU alums Brent Buffa (2004-06) and John Herzing (1966-69). Margolin boasts four complete game shutout victories in his career.
Darmawan led the Bears offense with a 2-for-5 performance and the lone run as WashU totaled five hits. Santos knocked in Darmawan for the winning run while seniors Tate Maider and Scott Nelson also singled in the game. Senior Ben Browdy patiently tallied two walks to continue his on-base streak to 42-games and Mense finished with two sacrifices.
Game 2: Case Western 5 – WashU 1
Case Western struck first in the second game with five runs in the second inning. The big hit for the Spartans came off the bat of Aaron Cain as the starting centerfielder cleared the bases with a three-run triple, giving Case a 5-0 advantage.
The Bears cut the deficit during the fifth inning. Pinch hitting freshman AJ Dunham reached base on a throwing error by the second baseman that allowed him to advance into scoring position. One batter later, he scored on a single by Mense.
Sophomore starting pitcher John Howard settled in after the second inning while keeping the Spartans from additional runs through the sixth inning before he was relieved by freshman lefty Matthew Ashbaugh in the seventh. Ashbaugh held Case Western off the board in 1 2/3 innings with three strikeouts but the Bears were unable to close the gap. Howard exited the game after 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out six.
Six Bears finished the second game with 1-for-4 performances including Darmawan, Mense, Browdy, Santos, freshman John Brinkman and junior Conor O'Hara. Browdy continued his on-base streak to 43-games.
WashU and Case Western will square off tomorrow in the final two games of the series with another doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. (ET). Due to weather forecasts predicting poor weather on Sunday, the series shifted a game from Sunday to Saturday. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.