ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The RV Washington University in St. Louis baseball team kicked off their final home weekend of the regular season on fire as the Bears picked up a doubleheader sweep of visiting Brandeis on Friday afternoon at Kelly Field. The highlight was senior Brandon Buday hitting for the cycle in game one.

Game 1: WashU 10, Brandeis 4
The Bears picked up where they left off in their midweek contest against Eureka, scoring in both the first and second innings. Buday led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored the first run of the game when graduate Colter Couillard-Rodak singled to second base.

Leading 1-0, WashU added two more runs in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Carson Cleage led off with a single through the left side and reached second on a sophomore Miles Birke groundout to third. A single by sophomore Anthony Equale put runners on the corners with just one out. A double by Buday to deep center field scored both runners and gave WashU the 3-0 lead.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Buday stepped up and took a pitch deep over the fence in right field for his second home run of the season, and once again extended the Bears' lead to 4-0.

However, it was the sixth inning when WashU blew the game wide open, doubling their run total. Cleage led off an inning once again, this time with his first home run of the season. After the Judges collected two outs, the rally was on. Buday completed his cycle with a shallow single to left field. It marked the first cycle of his career. Couillard-Rodak then was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Graduate Noah Reichman then slammed his seventh home run of the season over the fence in left field to clear the bases and put the Bears ahead 8-0.

WashU nearly had the opportunity to end the game early after they scored their ninth run in the bottom of the seventh inning. After going up 9-0, the Bears saw a runner on second with two outs. Equale hit a single to shortstop that pulled the first baseman off the bag but he was able to throw home to his catcher to tag out first-year Kevin Stephens who was attempting to score from second.

Brandeis finally got on the board in the top of the eighth using a pair of doubles to cut the lead down to 9-1. WashU immediately answered in the bottom half of the inning when a single and a pair of hit batters loaded the bases.

The Judges then got a strikeout and a flyout before a balk on the pitcher allowed all runners to advance a base and put the Bears back up by nine, 10-1.

The Judges led off the ninth needing nine runs to keep the game going, but were unable to despite scoring three runs and cutting the lead to just six.

Buday went a perfect five-for-five at the plate with two singles, a double, a triple, and a home run. He also finished with four runs scored and three RBIs. Cleage finished the first game with a three-for-three performance at the plate. He finished with two runs scored and one RBI.

Senior Hank Weiss (3-2) got the win on the mound in 6.0 innings of work with 11 strikeouts while allowing just two hits and two walks.

Game 2: WashU 9, Brandeis 2
Game two started off as a stalemate as neither team scored until the sixth inning. Brandeis would take their first and only lead on the day with a lone run in the top of the frame. They used a two-out, bases-loaded ground out to first to push a run across for the 1-0 lead.

The Bears, as they had done late in game one, immediately answered in the bottom half of the inning. Buday led off with a single up the middle and Couillard-Rodak followed with a single through the right side to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance one base and tie the game up at 1-1. A hard-hit single up the middle by Reichman, combined with the speedy Couillard-Rodak, gave the Bears the 2-1 lead.

The seventh inning saw WashU triple its score. Mazone led off with his second home run of the season down the right-field line. Equale followed with a walk and after stealing second, Stephens allowed him to take third on a single to second. Equale would come around and score on a fielder's choice by Buday, putting the Bears up 4-1. An error on a failed pickoff attempt allowed Buday to take third. A triple by Couillard-Rodak scored Buday. A wild pitch to Reichman on the next at-bat scored Couillard-Rodak and gave the Bears a 6-1 lead.

The Judges got one of the runs back in the top of the eighth, but WashU added three more on in the bottom of the inning on three hits to take a seven-run lead, 9-2. The Bears didn't allow a runner to even reach third in the top of the ninth and the game ended on a lineout to first.

Both junior Shane Pellegrino and Stephens finished the game with three hits. Pellegrino went three-for-five while collecting two RBIs, while Stephens went three-for-four with a run scored.

Junior Miles Quemuel-Labrador (4-0) earned the win in 2.0 innings of relief work. He finished with four strikeouts.

The two teams are scheduled to be back on the field tomorrow, Saturday, April 19, with a single game beginning at 3 p.m. Please check back tomorrow for any potential changes to the schedule due to weather in the area.