WALTHAM, Mass. – After a schedule adjustment due to forecasted weather in the Boston area this weekend, the No. 15 Washington University in St. Louis baseball team split a doubleheader with Brandeis. The Judges took game one 3-1 before the Bears rebounded for a 7-2 win to close out the day.
Brandeis 3, WashU 1
In a low-scoring contest, it was a pair of early runs by Brandeis that was the difference maker in the first game of the doubleheader.
After a scoreless first, the Judges got on the board in the bottom of the second. After a single and walk, a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position with one out. A groundout to the shortstop saw the first run come across the plate. Next, a hit that bounced over the fence in right center for a ground-rule double allowed the second run of the inning to score, putting the Judges ahead 2-0.
WashU cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth. First-year
Chance Cromer led off with a double down the right field line before a flyout to center allowed him to take third. Then with two outs, junior
Anthony Equale hit a single to center that allowed Cromer to score and trim the lead down to 2-1.
Brandeis would get the run back in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff single, the Judges scored on a double down the left field line, putting them back ahead by two, 3-1. They then held off the Bears in the final two innings and held on for the win.
Equale finished the game going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Graduate
Chase Brickley (7-2) took the loss in 6.0 innings of work. He tallied five strikeouts during his day on the mound.
WashU 7, Brandeis 2
The Judges got on the board first again, this time in the first inning. With two outs, Brandeis got a runner on after he was hit by a pitch and he would come around and score on a double down the left field line.
Trailing 1-0, WashU responded with a trio of runs in the top of the second. With one out, sophomore
Kevin Stephens walked and reached second on a single by sophomore
Cooper Greene. Senior
Connor Lindsey then hit a single to right center that saw Stephens reach third, but he was tagged out attempting to reach home.
Sophomore
Miles Birke followed with a single of his own that allowed Greene to reach home safely from third, tying the game at 1-1. After graduate
Josh Erpenbeck was hit by a pitch, all runners advanced on a balk, scoring Lindsey and giving the Bears a 2-1 lead. Cromer then had the fourth hit by WashU in the inning with a single to left that scored Birke and gave the Bears a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, WashU added a pair of runs to its lead. Another hit batter and a pair of walks saw the bases loaded. Despite hitting into a double play, the Bears scored one run, going up 4-1. A double to left by Stephens saw Soong, who walked earlier, score to give WashU a 5-1 lead.
The Bears added single runs in both the top of the seventh and eighth innings. Soong led off the seventh with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior
Shane Pellegrino. In the eighth, Cromer was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a double by Equale to left, putting the Bears up 7-1.
The Judges attempted a ninth-inning rally but were only able to score one run before WashU closed out the game on a force groundout to first.
Seven different Bears recorded a hit in the contest, with Cromer going 1-for-3, scoring two runs and collecting an RBI. Both Soong and Equale went 1-for-3 while also walking twice.
Senior
Isaac Zhang (4-0) picked up the win in 8.1 innings of work. He finished with four strikeouts.
WashU and Brandeis will close out their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, with first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.
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