ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Junior Anthony Equale hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth in the second game of a doubleheader as the No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis baseball team earned a UAA split on Saturday afternoon against Emory. The Eagles took game one 5-2 before WashU rebounded to secure a 9-8 win to close out the day.

Emory 5, WashU 2
It was a quiet start to the contest with two scoreless innings to start before Emory got on the board in the top of the third.

Connor Tam put the Eagles up first with a one-out, solo home run. Then back-to-back doubles by the Eagles saw the team from Atlanta take a 2-0 lead after three.

In the bottom of the fourth, WashU responded by cutting the lead in half. First-year Chance Cromer led off with a single and, with one out, stole second. On sophomore Ryan Soong's deep single to left, Cromer would come around and score before a throw down to second was able to get Soong out as the Bears trailed 2-1.

Two walks and a hit batter would load the bases in the top of the fifth for Emory. With one out, a groundout to third saw one run score before a single up the middle pushed across two more as the Eagles stretched their lead to 5-1.

Soong attempted to get the Bears back in the game with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh, but a complete game by Adam Gellar for Emory closed out the win in favor of the Eagles.

Both Cromer and Soong finished the game with a pair of hits. Junior Townsend Stevenson (1-3) took the loss despite pitching six innings with eight strikeouts.

WashU 9, Emory 8
This time it was the Bears that got on the board first, in the first.

With one out, Soong earned a four-pitch walk before reaching second on a single by sophomore Cooper Greene. Equale would load the bases with a single to left before sophomore Kevin Stephens followed with a single of his own, to right center, that scored Soong. First-year Jacob Witte was hit by a pitch to walk in Greene, putting WashU up 2-0.

The Eagles answered in the top of the third with a trio of runs to take their first lead of the game. After leading off with two singles, a walk, and a flyout, Emory had the bases loaded. A third hit of the inning saw two runs come across to tie the game at 2-2. On a double steal, the Eagles were able to get another run across to move ahead, 3-2.

The Bears responded immediately in the bottom of the inning. Stephens led off with a double down the left-field line and advanced to third on a groundout by Witte. A deep sacrifice fly to left center by Pellegrino allowed Stephens to come home and tie the game up at 3-3.

Just one inning later, WashU regained the lead with its own three-run inning. Soong led off the bottom of the fourth with a single through the left side and Greene pushed him to second with a walk. After a pitching change, a throwing error by the catcher on a double steal allowed Soong to race home as the Bears took a 4-3 lead.

Equale would be hit by a pitch and eventually come and score on a double by Witte down the left-field line. Pellegrino followed with a single to left center that saw Witte come around and score as WashU took a three-run lead, 6-3.

A solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fifth by senior Connor Lindsey extended the lead to four runs as the game reached the halfway point, 7-3.

In a scenario similar to Friday's contest, Emory had a big inning late to retake the lead. The Eagles started off with a single before a groundout and back-to-back-to-back walks saw a bases-loaded play score a run. Emory then got its second single of the inning that allowed two more runs to score, trimming the lead down to 7-6. After getting a strikeout, one final single by the Eagles scored another two runs as Emory retook the lead, 8-7.

In the bottom of the inning, Equale was hit by a pitch to start before a sacrifice bunt by Stephens pushed him to second. Then with two outs, a deep fly ball by Pellegrino to center bounced off the fence as Equale had already run home on contact, with the Bears tying the game up once more at 8-8.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Emory would get a single and a walk before a flyout to right center put the game back in the Bears' control.

Cromer would lead off the bottom of the ninth with a seven-pitch walk before a one-out deep single by Greene to the shortstop put runners on first and second. A wild pitch would see both Cromer and Greene advance one base each. On a full count, Equale would hit a walk-off single to left, scoring Cromer from third as WashU earned the 9-8 win over Emory.

Stephens would lead the Bears at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and two singles. Not to be outdone, Pellegrino went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. In total, nine Bears finished with at least one hit, with the team hitting four doubles. The Bears also turned three double plays.

First-year Dylan Belyea (2-0) pitched his way into his second win in as many appearances, striking out one in 1.2 innings of work.

WashU and Emory will close out their UAA series with a single game on Sunday, Apr. 12, with an 11 a.m. scheduled first pitch. If you can't make it, tune into FloSports to catch the action and listen to WashU broadcaster Jay Murry's 1,200th game on air for the Bears!


-------

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.