Box Score St. Louis, Mo., April 8, 2014 – Five errors by the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team led to seven unearned runs for Iowa Wesleyan College as the Bears suffered an 8-6 loss to the Tigers Tuesday afternoon at Kelly Field.
Washington U. jumped out to a 3-0 lead on three hits in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Max Golembo led off with a single up the middle and sophomore Kyle Kozak followed with a walk. After a double steal, junior Chris Lowery drove a sacrifice fly to center field to score Golembo and junior Zack Kessinger had an RBI-groundout that scored Kozak and gave the Bears a 2-0 lead. Junior Brian Cizek followed with a two-out double to right-center field, and freshman CJ Price singled through the right side to keep the inning alive, before Cizek scored on a double steal to make it 3-0 in favor of the Bears.
In the top of the third, Iowa Wesleyan loaded the bases with two errors and a walk. Sophomore Julian Clarke got the Tigers' next two batters to popup, but a throwing error by Price allowed two unearned runs to score for Iowa Wesleyan. The Tigers then got their second hit of the game, a two-RBI double to take the lead with two more unearned runs. Iowa Wesleyan added another unearned run in the top of the fourth to extend its lead to 5-3.
Washington U. tied the game on a one-out, two-RBI single up the middle by Price in the bottom of the fifth inning, but a double play left two baserunners stranded to end the inning. The Bears took advantage of Iowa Wesleyan's lone error in the game to take a 6-5 lead on a sacrifice fly by Kozak in the bottom of the sixth.
Iowa Wesleyan tied the game on a double steal in the top of the eighth after a pair of one-out hits. In the top of the ninth with the score tied 6-6, the Tigers got the bases loaded with one out on a pair of walks and a single. Lowery fielded a bases-loaded ground ball cleanly near third base, but his throw home went in the dirt and past Kozak, allowing two runs to score for Iowa Wesleyan. In the bottom of the inning, the Bears loaded the bases, but a soft fly ball to second base ended the game and gave Iowa Wesleyan the 8-6 win.
The Bears' pitching staff scattered eight hits and recorded seven strikeouts, while giving up just one earned run. Clarke went 2.2 innings in his first career start, allowing four unearned runs and just two hits, while striking out three. Junior Max Zhang threw 2.1 innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out two. Freshman Scott Nelson (0-1) took the loss despite a strong 3.1 innings of work, with two strikeouts and three runs, only one earned, while freshman Brad Margolin pitched the final 0.2 of an inning in the loss.
Offensively, Washington U. had three hits each in the first and fifth innings, but just two hits the other seven innings combined. The Bears left 10 runners on base, including eight in scoring position. Price finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs, while junior Brandon Deger was also 2-for-4 with a walk in the game.
Washington U. (11-14) finishes its 14-game homestand by hosting No. 11-ranked Birmingham-Southern College Wednesday and Thursday at Kelly Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. each day.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. had six stolen bases in the game, and senior Kyle Billig brought his career record to 95 with a steal in the fourth inning … Golembo reached base for the 25th consecutive game … Deger extended his hitting streak to eight games.
