St. Louis, Mo., March 7, 2021– The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis baseball team closed out opening week with a sweep of the Illinois Wesleyan Titans.

WashU improved to 3-0 while IWU dropped to 3-3.

Junior Austin Sachen struck out eight of his 19 batters faced in just over four innings on the mound. Freshman Clayton Miller made his collegiate debut, pitching three innings and recording six strikeouts. Sophomore Kyle Coates closed out the game to secure the Bears' 9-1 victory.

Junior Caleb Durbin's solo home run in the bottom of the first put WashU on the board. The Titans countered with their own solo homer in the top of third to tie up the game 1-1.

WashU ran away with the lead in a dominant third inning. Durbin hit a two-RBI single to advance senior Henry Singer and freshman Broghan O'Connor home. Junior Zac Styka's sacrifice bunt advanced junior Tim Van Kirk to third and Durbin to second for the first out of the inning. Senior Johnny LaMantia then hit a two-RBI single to increase the lead to 5-1 before wrapping up the inning.

Sophomore Joe Georger was patient up to bat, earning himself a walk to first base. He found an opportunity to steal second before Van Kirk's RBI double to add another run. 

Miller entered the game in the fifth inning with two runners on base and two outs. He found his first strikeout to end the inning with the bases loaded 

The Bears scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, with Van Kirk's RBI triple followed by a sacrifice fly ball from Durbin.

The final run of the game came in the eighth when LaMantia's double sent Durbin to third before making it home on the next hit. The Bears would end the game with a 9-1 victory.