ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After playing five games in five days last weekend to Wednesday, the RV Washington University in St. Louis baseball team opened a four-game series on Saturday afternoon against RV Gustavus Adolphus. After the Bears took game one, 9-5, the Gusties needed extra innings to earn the split on the day, 6-4.

Game 1: WashU 9, GAC 5
The Bears opened up game one scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Senior Brandon Buday led off with a single down the left field line. First-year Ryan Soong followed with a hard-hit single off the pitcher's glove that allowed Buday to reach third. After Soong stole second, a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance a base, which scored Buday, putting WashU ahead, 1-0. After a strikeout, another wild pitch scored Soong, putting the Bears in the lead 2-0 after one complete inning.

The Gusties tied the game in the top of the second with a pair of runs. Trailing 2-1, and with runners on second and third with two outs, GAC got a single through the right side that scored the runner on third. However, when the runner that had started the at-bat on second attempted to come home, first-year Kevin Stephens threw the ball directly home, and senior catcher Braden Mazone tagged the runner out with a swiping tag.

The Bears quickly regained the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second. With two outs and a runner on second, graduate Noah Reichman doubled to left field, which plated Soong, who had reached on a fielder's choice before stealing second. A third wild pitch in the first two innings moved Reichman to third before junior Shane Pellegrino hit his first home run of the season over the fence in left field, giving WashU a 5-2 lead.

The Bears scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Stephens led off with a single before stealing second and reaching third on a throwing error in an attempt to get him out at second. Soong followed with a walk and then stole second himself. A fourth wild pitch plated Stephens. Reichman then hit a sacrifice fly to deep center that allowed Soong to score and give WashU a five-run cushion, 7-2.

The top of the sixth inning saw the Gusties pull within two runs on a trio of hits, including a pair of singles and a double.

Wanting to make sure they had enough insurance runs, Mazone launched his first home run of the season over the fence in right field, scoring graduate Colter Couillard-Rodak, who had reached on a single through the left side earlier in the inning. The Bears then got a three-up, three-down top of the ninth to secure the 9-5 win.

WashU got eight hits from seven different players, led by Buday's two hits. Soong had the game-high three runs scored. Reichman, Pellegrino, and Mazone each accounted for two of the six RBIs that the Bears tallied.

Junior Miles Quemuel-Labrador picked up the win in 5.0 innings of relief, striking out four and walking none.

Game 2: GAC 6, WashU 4
The Gusties didn't want to leave Kelly Field without a win on day one of the weekend series, as they took a quick 1-0 lead after one inning.

It was not until the third inning that the Bears were able to respond with a trio of runs. First-year Cooper Greene opened the frame with a single to right field. With two outs, Soong singled to the shortstop, who didn't see that Greene had already rounded second and broke for third on the throw in an attempt to get Soong out at first. Graduate Josh Erpenbeck got his first hit of the day with a triple to left center that scored both Soong and Greene. Reichman followed with his own extra-base hit, a double to nearly the identical spot as Erpenbeck's, scoring Erpenbeck from third and giving the Bears a 3-1 lead.

Not wanting to fall behind for long, the Gusties answered with their own three-run inning in the top of the fourth. They used four hits and a hit batter to plate their quartet of runs and retake a 4-3 lead.

Runs became a premium item for the rest of the game, as it was not until the bottom of the sixth that WashU was able to tie the score. With one out, Pellegrino walked and stole second. First-year Will Taigen singled to the pitcher, which allowed Pellegrino to advance to third. Couillard-Rodak followed with a sacrifice fly to center that Pellegrino scored on, leveling the game at 4-4.

Neither team could plate another run through the ninth inning, so the game went into extra innings. With light starting to dwindle, the Gusties scored a pair of runs with two outs in the top of the 10th to take a 6-4 lead. WashU was unable to answer in their half of the inning, allowing GAC to earn a split of the doubleheader.

Erpenbeck led the way in game two with his triple, scoring a run and collecting a pair of RBIs.

Senior Hank Weiss took the loss in relief despite pitching the final four innings, striking out eight.

WashU and the Gusties will play another doubleheader on Sunday, March 16. The first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Kelly Field at Irv Utz Stadium.