ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis softball team defeated Capital University 8-0 in five innings to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Bears are now 29-5-1 on the year and move forward in the winner's bracket of the St. Louis regional.
After junior pitcher
Maria Brooks struck out all three batters in the top of the first inning, the Bears scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, sophomore
Harper Nix doubled down the right field line and junior
Kristina Donaldson reached on a throwing error by short. Donaldson went on to steal second and following a long throw, Nix came in to score for a 1-0 edge.
Senior
Alexa Hanish led off the bottom of the second inning with a single to right center and advanced on a sacrifice bunt from junior
Kennedy Grippo. Hanish advanced on a wild pitch and went on to score on a single through the right side from first-year
Julia Sullo for a 2-0 lead.
WashU had a monster fifth inning, scoring six runs to end the game early. Senior
Sydney Schneider drew a lead-off walk and moved ahead on a ground out from Nix. Donaldson was hit by a pitch and first-year
Austen Kinney singled through the left side, scoring Schneider for the first run of the inning.
First-year
Ava Peterson, who came on to run for Kinney, stole second and, with two outs, first-year
Katie Dolin singled to third, scoring Donaldson. Dolin stole second and Hanish singled up the middle, scoring both Peterson and Dolin for a 6-0 game.
Grippo singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw to put two runners in scoring position. Sullo drew a walk and Schneider walked it off with a two-run double to left for the 8-0 game.
Hanish went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI while Schneider was 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Kinney finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and Dolin was 1-for-2 with one RBI and one run scored.
Brooks earned her 17
th win of the season in the circle, pitching a complete game with two hits, no runs and six strikeouts.
The Bears are back tomorrow at 11 a.m. against the winner of Illinois College and UW-Oshkosh.
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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.
