Auburndale, Fla. – The Washington University in St. Louis baseball team opened the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Sunday afternoon with a 7-6 loss to No. 9 UT-Dallas in non-conference play. 

WashU moves to 1-6 on the season and UTD improves to 15-1 on the season. 

The Bears started off the game strong, boasting a 6-0 advantage through the first three frames. 

Sebastian Guzman had got the start on the mound for the Bears, as he kept the Comets hitless in the first three innings. 

Guzman finished with a no-decision on the afternoon, pitching five innings with six strikeouts. 

In the top of the first with the bases stacked, Clayton Miller ripped his first career grand slam to left center, scoring Brandon Buday, Magnus Dunn, and Tim Van Kirk for a 4-0 lead. 

Later in the inning, the Bears added another run following an RBI double to left from Zac Malis which scored Jack Miller for a 5-0 advantage.  

WashU took a 6-0 lead in the top of the second with a Van Kirk RBI single through the left side, as Buday crossed the plate for the second time in the afternoon after reaching on a lead-off double. 

UTD cut into the Bears' lead with three runs in the fourth. The Comets scored their first run on a solo homer, followed by two RBI singles to center. 

Texas-Dallas made it a one run game in the fifth after connecting on a two-run home run down the left field line. 

UTD's bullpen, which took over early in the game, allowed only three hits in the final seven innings of play. 

WashU maintained a 7-6 advantage heading into the seventh inning. However, the Comets would tie the contest up after scoring a run on a two-out throwing error. 

The Bears would go down in order in the eighth, but in the ninth, were able to put the go-ahead runner in scoring position, as Magnus Dunn reached second with one out. 

However, WashU was unable to bring Dunn home, leaving him stranded on the base path. 

WashU recorded back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth, but the Comets would collect back-to-back singles to put the winning run on second base. 

In the next at-bat, UTD would walk it off with an RBI single through the left side. 

For the Bears, Buday and Dunn both finished with multi-hit games, leading the way with two hits each. Buday has posted three consecutive multi-hit games of at least two hits. In addition, Buday led the Bears with two stolen bases. 

Kyle Coates, who pitched in relief of Guzman, received the loss after pitching 3.2 innings with six strikeouts, while allowing one earned run. 

UT-Dallas finished with 16 hits in total and had two players record three hits each. 

WashU will return to action on Tuesday in Florida against Southern Maine at 10:00 AM EST.