ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The No. 10 Washington University in St. Louis softball team earned two wins on Saturday afternoon to advance to the NCAA regional final series on Sunday. The Bears are now 34-6, posting the most wins since 2016 (35).

The Bears will play Redlands tomorrow at 11 a.m. With a WashU win, there will be another game at 1:30 p.m. With a Redlands win, the Bulldogs will win the regional.

Game 1: WashU 4, Lake Forest 2
Due to weather, WashU and Lake Forest played two full innings before the game was halted. The game continued on Saturday morning at nearby Lindenwood University.

The Bears had a two-run fourth inning to break the scoreless deadlock. With one out, sophomore Kristina Donaldson drew a walk and moved up on a grounder from first-year Harper Nix. Junior Jamie Cendana ripped a shot to left-center, scoring Donaldson for the first run of the game. Cendana stole second and then scored on a single up the middle from sophomore Kennedy Grippo to make it a 2-0 game.

WashU added two more in the top of the sixth inning. Donaldson led off with a single through the left side and Nix followed with a single through the left side. Cendana laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners, and Donaldson scored on a throwing error during the play. Senior Maggie Baumstark was hit by a pitch and stole second and first-year Emma Dow, who came on to run for Nix, scored on a wild pitch to put the Bears ahead 4-0.

Lake Forest answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kya Mismash led off with a single through the left side and stole second. Kelly Collins drew a walk and Emmie Nyen reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. Kyla Chevalier reached base on a fielder's choice and Mismash scored the Foresters' first run. Cheyenne Pellettiere singled to second, scoring Nyen for a 4-2 game.

Senior Erin Reardon finished 2-for-4 and Grippo went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Cendana finished 1-for-2 with one run scored and two RBI.

Senior Jordan Rossi earned the win in the circle, pitching 5.1 innings with four hits, one run, and three strikeouts.

Game 2: WashU 3, Wartburg 2 
Wartburg struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Reagan Hassel drew a one-out walk and stole second. Jenna Wiebenga singled down the right line, scoring Hassel for a 1-0 lead.

The Bears got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Baumstark doubled down the left field line, and Reardon was hit by a pitch. Senior Brooke Capparelli flied out to right field, moving the runners up a base and both went on to steal with Baumstark scoring to make it a 2-1 game.

WashU tied the game in the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, Grippo singled to short and Nix drew a walk. Sophomore Julia Nicholus, on to pinch hit, singled to right field, scoring Grippo for a 2-2 tie.
In the top of the seventh with one out, Reardon was hit by a pitch. With two outs, senior Natalia Pilpil singled up the middle and senior Taylor Geluck singled through the left side, scoring Reardon for a 3-2 Bears' lead.

Grippo finished 2-for-3 with one run scored while Capparelli went 2-for-4. Nicholus was 1-for-1 with one RBI, and Baumstark went 1-for-3 with one run scored. Geluck finished 1-for-4 with the game-winning RBI.

Sophomore Maria Brooks earned the win in the circle, pitching 3.2 innings of relief with two hits, no runs, and six strikeouts.