ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 18 Washington University in St. Louis softball team completed its weekend sweep, picking wins over No. 10 UW-Whitewater and Rhodes on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are now 10-0 on the year.
Game 1: WashU 5, UWW 1
The Bears quickly put up three runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, senior
Sydney Schneider singled to second base and stole second. Nix reached base on a wild pitch to put runners on the corners. In the next at-bat, junior
Kristina Donaldson drilled a three-run homerun over the left field fence for a 3-0 lead.
Whitewater scored in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 3-1 game. Kaitlyn Weidemann hit a one-out single to second and Maggie Ward reached on a fielder's choice play. Grace Grabowy reached base on an error, scoring Weidemann.
The Bears posted their final two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Sullo led off with a single up the middle and then stole second and third. Nix drew a walk and sophomore
Christina Smith, who came on to run for Nix, stole second. Donaldson hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Sullo. First-year
Emmy May reached base on an error, scoring Smith for the 5-1 edge.
Sullo went 2-for-4 with one run while Donaldson was 1-for-3 with four RBI and a run scored. Nix went 1-for-3 with one run scored and a walk.
First-year
Jessi Szafoni earned her fourth win of the year in the circle, pitching a complete game with three hits, no earned runs and six strikeouts.
Game 2: WashU 8, Rhodes 2
WashU put up two runs in the bottom of the second, starting with a one-out single up the middle from first-year
Austen Kinney. Junior
Kennedy Grippo doubled to left center and senior
Jamie Cendana drew a walk to load the bases. Senior
Alexa Hanish singled to left, scoring both Kinney and Grippo for a 2-0 lead.
Rhodes tied things up in the top of the fourth inning. Kaitlyn Sun led off with a single to right center and Talia Travis doubled to left center, scoring Sun. Isabela Barber singled to left and Travis went on to score on a throwing error for the 2-2 game.
The Bears came out in the bottom half of the inning to take back the lead, 3-2. Hanish led off with a double down the left field line. With two outs, Nix doubled to right center, scoring Hanish.
WashU scored two more in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Kinney drilled a double to left and Grippo singled through the left side to score Kinney. Grippo stole second and Cendana reached base on an error. Hanish grounded out but moved the runners up a base and junior
Maria Brooks reached base on an error, scoring Grippo for the 5-2 lead.
The Bears produced a three-run sixth inning to take an 8-2 lead. First-year
Katie Fung hit a lead-off single up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Donaldson singled through the left side to put runners on the corners.
Donaldson stole second and Kinney singled to center, advancing to second on the throw and scoring Fung for the first run of the inning. Grad student
Dawson Dabboussi doubled down the left line, bringing in Donaldson and Kinney.
Kinney went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI. Hanish finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored and Grippo was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI.
Brooks earned the win in the circle, coming on to pitch 3.2 innings of relief, allowing no runs and striking out four. She is 4-0 on the year.
WashU hits the road this week for a spring break trip to Texas. The Bears will face No. 5 Texas Lutheran in a doubleheader at 2/4 p.m. on Wednesday before taking on Trinity (TX) on Friday at 11 a.m./1 p.m.
------------------------------------------
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.
