St. Louis, Mo. – The No. 25 Washington University in St. Louis softball team split with Illinois College on Wednesday afternoon. The Bears are now 5-5 on the season.
Game 1: Illinois College 5, WashU 3
Illinois College got on the board first, putting up four runs in the top of the second inning. Brooke Loveall led off with a double to right center. Kayla Serpa drew a two-out walk and Allison Mortland reached on a throwing error, allowing time for Loveall to score. Kiya Hagene reached on a fielder's choice and advanced on the throw, as both Serpa and Mortland Scored. Annie Schimpf reached base on an error, scoring Hagene for the 4-0 lead.
The Bears cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third inning.
Eimear Cunningham hit a lead-off single to left field and
Katie Gould hit a single to second to advance
Sydney Schneider, who came on to run for Cunningham.
Erin Reardon laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases.
On the next play,
Natalia Pilpil grounded into a double play with Gould out at third, but Schneider scored for the Bears.
Tami Wong then hit a single down the right field line, bringing in Reardon to make it a 4-2 game.
The Lady Blues put up a run in the top of the fifth to make it 5-2. With two outs, Loveall doubled to center field and Calynn Gicante doubled through the left side to score Loveall.
WashU added another run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Taylor Geluck led off with a single up the middle and moved ahead on an
Olivia Craycraft sac bunt.
Maggie Baumstark singled up the middle, scoring Geluck.
Reardon finished 3-for-4 with one run scored and Baumstark went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Holly Stoner took the loss in the circle putting her at 2-2 on the season.
As a team, the Bears committed three errors.
Game 2: WashU 4, Illinois College 3
WashU put up two runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Catryn Cattoor led off with a double to right center and moved up to third on an
Olivia Craycraft single through the left side. Cattoor then stole home for the first run of the game. Craycraft moved to third on a Baumstark sac bunt followed by a walk from Reardon. Craycraft then stole home to make it a 2-0 game for the Bears.
Illinois College took the lead in the top of the third inning, scoring three runs.
With one out, Hagene singled to second and beat out the throw, followed by a Schimpf single to short. Loveall continued her offensive production with a double to right center, scoring Hagene. Gracie Braun was hit by a pitch and Cheyenne Anderson singled through the right side to score Schimpf. Claudia Adam was also hit by a pitch, bringing in Loveall to give the Lady Blues a 3-2 lead.
The Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead that would eventually hold until the end.
Wong drew a one-out walk and Cunningham hit a single up the middle. Cattoor drilled a double to left field, scoring both Talkow, who was on to run for Wong, and Cunningham for a 4-3.
Cattoor finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run while Cunningham went 2-for-3 with a run score. Craycraft finished 1-for-2 with one run and a walk.
Jordan Rossi picked up the win in the circle, pitching 4.2 innings of relief with nine strikeouts.
The Bears head to the Pioneer Classic this weekend in Elizabethtown, Ky. where they will face Calvin, No. 13 Transylvania, No. 11 Linfield and Anderson.
