ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 12 Washington University in St. Louis baseball team continued its hot start to the 2026 season with a doubleheader sweep of Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday at Kelly Field. WashU picked up its fourth run-rule win of the season in game one, 17-1, before capping the day with a 3-1 win over the Titans.

Game 1: WashU 17, IWU 1 
The Bears got things started quickly in game one against the Titans, knocking in a run in the bottom of the first. With two outs, first-year Drew Dillon drew a full-count walk and was followed by junior Anthony Equale, who was hit by a pitch. After a double steal put the runners on second and third, first-year Jacob Witte hit a single to the shortstop that scored Dillon, giving WashU the 1-0 lead.

It did not take long for WashU to add more runs to the board. In the bottom of the second, senior Shane Pellegrino led off with a double down the left field line and reached third on a flyout by sophomore Cooper Greene. After loading the bases with sophomore Miles Birke being hit by a pitch and first-year Chance Cromer walking, Dillon got his own one-out walk to score Pellegrino from third.

Equale then stepped in and launched a ball off the fence in left-center, clearing the bases for a three-RBI double, putting the Bears in front 5-0 after two innings.

After the third straight three-up/three-down top of the inning for the Titans, WashU put the game out of reach in the third inning, scoring seven runs on seven hits. Witte hit a triple, sophomore Ryan Soong had a double, and Pellegrino had two singles in the inning. Cromer, Equale, and Greene also each had a hit in the bottom of the third. WashU led 12-0 after those three innings.

The Titans loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but starting pitcher junior Townsend Stevenson induced a groundout to third that Equale just stepped on the base to prevent any runs from scoring.

IWU was not as lucky in the bottom of the inning with Cromer and Stevens leading off with back-to-back singles. A Titan fielding error allowed Cromer to score on Dillon's next at bat. Equale followed with his first home run of the season, a blast over the fence in left-center, scoring Dillon and putting the Bears ahead 15-0 after four innings.

IWU used a double and two walks to load the bases, and a sacrifice fly to right field finally put the Titans on the board in the top of the fifth.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Equale led off with a double off the wall in left-center and was pushed to third on a one-out single up the middle by Soong. A single by Pellegrino to center allowed Soong to reach second and Equale to score. Senior Connor Lindsey stepped into the batter's box and tallied the third-straight hit for WashU, advancing both runners and scoring Soong, putting the Bears ahead 17-1.

WashU closed out the win with a scoreless top of the seventh.

Equale led the Bears in the contest, going 4-for-4 at the plate with six RBIs, two doubles, a home run, and a single. He also tallied three runs scored. Pellegrino also had a four-hit game, with a double and three singles.

Witte finished the contest with a triple and single while knocking in three runs.

Junior Anderson Gomez earned the win in relief, pitching 2.0 innings. He had three strikeouts while allowing just one hit. Stevenson pitched the first 4.0 innings, striking out seven and allowing just one run.

Game 2: WashU 3, IWU 1 
In the second game of the doubleheader, it took until the second inning for the Bears to get on the board. With one out in the bottom of the second, Greene doubled down the right field line. Sophomore Will Taigen advanced Greene to third on a groundout.

In the next at bat, Cromer was patient and earned a walk. During his at bat, Titan pitcher Cole Benson threw a wild pitch that scored Greene from third and put the Bears ahead 1-0 after two innings.

Both teams went scoreless in the third and fourth innings before WashU scored insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth. After Stephens earned a walk, Dillon sacrifice bunted Stephens to second. Now with two outs, Stephens stole third. A full-count walk by Witte put runners on the corners for Pellegrino. He slammed a triple to left-center, scoring both Witte and Stephens, adding a pair of runs to the WashU total, 3-0.

The Titans responded in the top of the sixth with just their second run of the day, and first of the contest. With two outs, JP Ferraro walked, and after a wild pitch, Jack Flagg doubled to right-center, scoring Ferraro for the lone IWU run of the contest.

Both teams used strong defense, keeping the other off the board in both the seventh and eighth innings, while the Bears picked up a pair of strikeouts in the top of the ninth to secure the 3-1 win.

WashU had seven different players record a hit in the contest while only being struck out once.

Graduate Chase Brickley picked up his third win in his third start as a Bear, pitching the first 6.0 innings while striking out eight and allowing just one run. Junior Parker Guthrie pitched the final three innings in relief to earn his second save of the season. He finished with four strikeouts and allowed just one hit.

WashU and IWU wrap up their three-game series on Sunday, March 8, with a single game at 12 p.m. Prior to the contest, the Bears will honor their six seniors with a special ceremony beginning at approximately 11:40 a.m. at Kelly Field.
 
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