Auburndale, Fla., March 10, 2018 – Sophomore John Brinkman had a four hit day to help the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team defeat No. 21 Wheaton (Mass.) 5-4 in its opening game during spring break trip in Florida on Saturday.

The Bears improved to 5-3 on the season with their fifth consecutive victory while handing the Lyons their first loss (3-1). Brinkman totaled four of the Bears nine hits, while sophomore AJ Dunham provided the walk-off hit in the ninth inning following a Brinkman double.

Brinkman also collected the victory after the Lyons tied the game up in the ninth after an error fueled run equaled the score at 4-4. Wheaton took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning, but WashU scored a single run in the final three innings to clinch its first win over a nationally ranked opponent this season.

Freshman Henry Singer also collected two hits while leading the Bears with two runs scored. He also knocked in WashU's first run with a sacrifice fly in the second that plated freshman Mitchell Black.

Singer scored in the fifth inning on a fielder's choice by junior Evan Nagel, but Wheaton took the lead back in the sixth against junior starting pitcher John Howard. Howard totaled 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs (two earned) and struck out three batters.

Freshman Tim Tague pitched 1.2 innings of solid relief, allowing just one batter to reach base. Brinkman's RBI double in the seventh evened the score at 3-3, before Singer scored his second run on a single by sophomore John Ostrander in the eighth.

The Bears will continue their spring break Florida trip Sunday, March 11 against St. Scholastica 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.