ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 12 Washington University in St. Louis softball team defeated Chicago 11-3 in six innings on Friday evening in UAA action. The Bears improve to 14-3-1 on the year with a 2-2 mark in conference play.
The Bears scored first, putting two runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, senior
Sydney Schneider singled through the left side and stole second. First-year
Austen Kinney drew a walk and both runners stole a base. Sophomore
Harper Nix singled to left, scoring both Schneider and Kinney for the 2-0 lead.
In the top of the second inning, Chicago's Lakyn Wilson reached base on an error to lead off the inning and Matilda Nelson singled to right to put runners on the corners. Brianna Leech, who came on to run for Nelson, stole second. Anna Jensen stole second, scoring Wilkinson, unearned, for a 2-1 game.
Chicago tied things up and went on to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning, starting with a lead-off walk from Wilkinson. Nelson reached base on an error and Jenson reached on a throwing error, scoring Wilkinson to tie things up. Olivia Cataldo hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Nelson to take a one-run lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, WashU tied things up at 3-3. Junior
Julia Nicholus singled through the left side and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior
Alexa Hanish. Nicholus advanced to third on a ground out from junior
Kennedy Grippo and scored on a single down the left line from first-year
Katie Dolin, scoring Nicholus.
The Bears had a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, putting up seven runs. First-year
Julia Sullo led off with a bunt single to third and stole both second and third bases. Kinney drew a one-out walk and stole second and Sullo went on to score the go-ahead run on a single to right center from Nix.
Junior
Kristina Donaldson singled up the middle, scoring junior
Elena Locascio, who came on to run for Kinney. Donaldson stole second and Nicholus drew a walk to load the bases. Hanish also walked, scoring first-year
Allie Botkin, who came on to run for Nix earlier in the inning.
Grippo singled through the left side, scoring Donaldson and Dolin drew a walk to score first-year
Emmy May, who was on to run for Nicholus. Sullo singled to left field, scoring both Hanish and Grippo to put the Bears ahead 10-3.
WashU walked it off in the bottom of the sixth inning with a run that put the eight-run mercy rule into effect. First-year
Katie Fung drew a lead-off walk and May doubled to center. Hanish singled to left center, scoring Fung for the final run of the game.
Nix was 2-for-2 with three RBI and a walk while Sullo went 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. Both Dolin and Hanish went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Junior
Maria Brooks earned the win in the circle to improve to 8-0 on the year, pitching a complete game with no earned runs and two strikeouts.
The Bears wrap up the series against Chicago tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.
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Elevating scholar-champions requires resources beyond the institutional budget. Through the W Club, generous alumni, parents, and friends provide unrestricted support that is essential to the extraordinary WashU student-athlete experience—and the ongoing growth and development of the department. Annual support for Athletics allows the Bears to consistently rise to national levels of competition and ensures that our student-athletes enjoy exceptional opportunities as they train, compete, and lead. To make a gift to the Annual Fund for Athletics, please visit our secure online giving form or contact the Athletics Advancement Office at athletics@wustl.edu.
