St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team split with NYU on Sunday to conclude the opening series of UAA play. The Bears won the first game before falling in game two to end the series 2-2.
Game 1: WashU 5, NYU 1
The Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Erin Reardon hit a one-out single down the left field line and advanced on a
Natalia Pilpil sacrifice fly.
Payton Irwin drilled a homer over the left center fence to put the Bears up 2-0.
WashU added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Irwin led off with a double to left center and moved up to third on a
Tami Wong sacrifice fly.
Maggie Baumstark singled to right, scoring Irwin for the 3-0 lead.
The Bears put up another run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Katie Gould led off with a single to short and moved up to second on a Reardon ground out. Pilpil and Wong each drew a walk to load the bases and Baumstark was hit by a pitch, scoring Gould for the 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, WashU made it a 5-0 game.
Ashley Kennedy singled down the right field line and
Emily Talkow came on to run for her.
Brooke Capparelli moved Talkow up to second with a sac bunt and Gould laid down a bunt to put Talkow on third. Reardon hit a sac fly to left to score Talkow.
NYU scored a run in the top of the seventh inning, starting with a Bella Dunning single to short. Samantha Burggraf drew a one-out walk and Mia Lesser singled to the pitcher to load the bases. Sophia Leon singled through the left side to score Dunning for a 5-1 game. The Bears made a force at home and forced a grounded to end the game with the win.
Gould finished 3-for-4 with one run scored while Irwin went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Reardon finished 2-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI and Baumstark went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Jordan Rossi picked up her second win of the season in the circle, pitching a complete game with five hits, one earned run and six strikeouts.
Game 2: NYU 3, WashU 2
The Bears got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Baumstark hit a one-out single through the right side and
Alexa Hanish singled through the left side. Kennedy reached on a fielder's choice play to put Baumstark on third base. Talkow, who came on to run for Kennedy and stole second.
Olivia Craycraft singled to short and advanced to second on a throwing error, scoring both Baumstark and Talkow.
NYU came out to tie things up 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. Lesser hit a one-out single to center and Leon bunted to the pitcher. With two outs, Madison Hand drilled a double to center, scoring both runners and knotting things up.
The Violets scored the game-winning run in the top of the seventh when Burggraf drilled a homer over the left center fence to make it a 3-2 game.
Although the Bears put a runner on in the bottom of the seventh, they could not rally for the win.
Gould finished 3-for-4 and Hanish went 2-for-2.
Holly Stoner took the loss in the circle, pitching a complete game with three earned runs and two strikeouts.
The Bears head to Case Western Reserve University next weekend for the second UAA series. The series is set to begin on Friday at 3 p.m. ET with a single game, followed by a Saturday double-header at 12 and 2 p.m. ET and conclude on Sunday with a single 11 a.m. ET game.
