Box Score St. Louis, Mo., March 17, 2018 – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team rallied from an early deficit to defeat Coe College 11-9 in the first of a three-game series Saturday evening at Kelly Field.
The Bears improved to 8-5 on the season while dropping the Kohawks to 4-5 on the year. WashU totaled 14 hits, while Coe tallied 13 in the high scoring game that also featured eight errors, six walks and four hit by pitches.
The Kohawks took at 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning taking advantage of its leadoff man reaching on an error. WashU managed just two hits through the third inning but took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Sophomore Brian Schutter doubled to right center to score sophomore John Ostrander and scored one batter later on an RBI single from freshman Collin Kahal. Freshman Mitchell Black scored on a fielder's choice by freshman Henry Singer as WashU took a 3-2 lead.
The Bears added a run in the fifth inning following an error by the Kohawks, but Coe rallied to even the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning. WashU responded with five runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Senior Auggie Mense's sacrifice bunt attempt allowed two runs to score on a throwing error and he scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore John Brinkman. Schutter also provided an RBI single and scored on the throw to second base on a steal by Black.
The Bears did not relinquish the lead but Coe continued to apply pressure by scoring runs in the sixth through ninth innings. Two additional runs by WashU in the bottom of the seventh inning proved to be the difference. Brinkman knocked in WashU's 10th run before scoring the 11th on a run scoring walk by Schutter.
Sophomore Matt Ashbaugh started the game and pitched 4.2 innings and did not allow an earned run while freshman Rees Viersen picked up his first career victory, pitching 2.1 innings and striking out three. Freshman Tim Tague pitched the final two innings and recorded three strikeouts.
Brinkman, Gardner, Ostrander, Schutter and Black all recorded multi hit games while Schutter led the bunch with three RBIs. Brinkman totaled two RBIs while increasing his season total to 21. Singer went 1-for-3 with two runs scored while swiping three stolen bases.
The Bears will close out the weekend series with Coe Sunday, March 18 at Kelly Field. The doubleheader is slated to start at 11 a.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Bears scores and awards by following @WashUBears on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
