St. Louis, Mo., March 4, 2018 – Freshman pitcher Ryan Loutos struck out 13 batters in route to picking up his first collegiate victory as the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team closed out a perfect week with an 8-3 victory over Buena Vista University Sunday afternoon.
The Bears improved to 4-3 on the season with its fourth straight win of the week including a three game series sweep over the Beavers who fell to 0-3 on the year. Sophomore John Brinkman provided a bases clearing double off the wall in the fifth and pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless ball in relief to help WashU close out the win.
Loutos was dominant after giving up a pair of hits and a walk in the first inning. He struck out the side twice and at one point between the first and third innings he struck out six consecutive batters.
Buena Vista was able to strike first despite Loutos' dominance. The Beavers took advantage of a throwing error in the third inning which allowed Peyton Renning to score with two outs.
WashU tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sophomore Brian Schutter scored on a wild pitch before freshman Henry Singer gave WashU the lead with a run scoring double that plated sophomore Thomas Gardner. After the Bears loaded the bases, Brinkman sent the ball soaring to deep left field off the wall to knock in three additional runs for a 5-1 Bears lead.
WashU added three more runs in the seventh. Junior Evan Nagel singled and stole second base before senior Auggie Mense knocked him in with a base knock to left field. The Bears loaded the bases before a double play ground ball allowed Mense to score and a passed ball let sophomore John Ostrander make it 8-1.
The Beavers scored twice in the top of the ninth but only one run was credited to sophomore reliever Jack Besser who entered with two outs. Brinkman and Gardner led WashU with two hits apiece while Gardner finished a perfect 2-for-2. Ostrander and Nagel combined to score four runs to lead the Bears.
WashU will return to action in Auburndale, Fla. on Saturday, March 10 against Wheaton (Mass.) at 9 a.m. (ET). Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.