DANVILLE, Ky. – After not playing a game in nearly three weeks, the No. 16/18 Washington University in St. Louis baseball team took a few innings before shaking off the rust on the bats as WashU picked up a 7-0 shutout over Aurora in the opening game of the Centre Regional on Friday.
The Bears improve to 29-11 on the season and advance in the winners' bracket.
It was a relatively slow start for both teams as neither sent more than four batters into the box until the top of the fifth with the Spartans sending five.
However, WashU did not let that go unanswered as they would send six in their half. Senior
Shane Pellegrino led off with a single to left field before advancing to second on a single through the right side by first-year
Jacob Witte. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore
Kevin Stephens put runners on second and third with just one out.
A single by first-year
Drew Dillon up the middle allowed both Pellegrino and Witte to score the first two runs of the contest. After an error on a failed pickoff and a stolen base, Dillon reached third. First-year
Cooper Greene then hit a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Dillon to score and put the Bears ahead, 3-0.
After a scoreless sixth by both teams, WashU got a two-out single to second from Dillon and was followed by a home run over the heightened fence in left at Gary Wright Field, scoring two more runs for WashU, 5-0.
The Bears added their final two runs in the bottom of the eighth. First-year
Chance Cromer led off with a five-pitch walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. A single by sophomore
Ryan Soong put runners on the corners with no outs. A single from junior
Anthony Equale scored Cromer and allowed Soong to reach third. A groundout by Pellegrino allowed Soong to score and gave the Bears the final 7-0 lead.
Dillon led the way with a pair of hits, tallying two runs and two RBIs. Greene finished the contest going 1-for-2 at the plate with a hit, three RBIs and a run scored. Equale also finished with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Graduate
Chase Brickley (8-2) picked up the win on the mound after pitching the first eight innings. He finished with 128 pitches and five strikeouts.
WashU awaits the winner of the Centre vs. Piedmont game on Saturday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m.
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