St. Louis, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team earned a season-opening sweep over Hanover College on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are now 2-0 on the season heading into their spring break trip to Alabama and Georgia.
 
Game 1 (6 innings) – WashU 8, Hanover 0
The Bears put runs up first in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Ashley Kennedy led off with a walk and graduate student Payton Irwin reached base on a fielder's choice play. Junior Olivia Craycraft singled to left field to put runners on the corners and both scored on a Sydney Schneider single to right center.
 
The Bears came out in the bottom of the third inning to post five more. First-year Kennedy Grippo drew a lead-off walk before stealing second and advancing to third on the throw. Kennedy followed with a double to left field, scoring Grippo.
 
Craycraft and sophomore Brooke Capparelli drew back-to-back walks to load the bases and all three runners scored on a double to left from Schneider. Junior Reardon blasted a triple down the right field line to bring in Schneider and put the Bears up 7-0.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Alexa Hanish got things going with a single through the left side. Grippo reached first on a fielder's choice play and Hanish was called safe at second. Junior Natalia Pilpil drove in the final run to end the game with a single up the middle, scoring Hanish.
 
Schneider finished the game 2-for-3 with five RBI to lead the Bears past the Panthers. Kennedy went 2-for-2 with one RBI and a walk while Reardon finished 2-for-3 with one RBI. Jamie Burgasser picked up the win in the circle with four innings pitched, just one hit and five strikeouts.
 
Game 2 – WashU 6, Hanover 1
WashU struck in the first inning, starting with a single to short from Schneider. First-year Kristina Donaldson blasted a two-run homer over the left field fence to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.
 
The Bears added another in the bottom of the second inning. First-year Julia Nicholus led off with a single up the middle and moved up a base on a single from Hanish to left field. Junior Catryn Cattoor reached first on an error to load the bases and Nicholus scored for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Panthers scored their first run of the day in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, Sophia Markowicz singled to left field and advanced to second on an error. Jade Wins singled to left field to score Markowicz and make it a 3-1 game.
 
WashU put up another run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior Maggie Baumstark reached first on a throwing error and moved to second. First-year Maria Brooks singled to right center to put runners on the corners and Jamie Cendana drove in Baumstark with a grounder to short, putting the Bears up 4-1.
 
The Bears scored their final runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Baumstark drilled a triple to right center followed by a Schneider walk and stolen base. First-year Elena Locascio singled to right center to bring in Baumstark and Schneider for a Bears' 6-1 lead.
 
Baumstark finished 1-for-2 with one RBI while Locascio went 1-for-1 with two RBI and Donaldson finished 1-for-3 with two RBI. Brooks earned her first collegiate win in the circle, going five innings with three hits, one earned run and three strikeouts.
 
The Bears hit the road for their next schedule games on March 12 at Birmingham Southern for a 2 and 4 p.m. start.