Asher Lubin

Senior Hank Weiss pitches against Case Western. (Asher Lubin | Staff Photographer)

The WashU baseball team played against Case Western Reserve University this weekend in a four-game series to start University Athletic Association (UAA) play. WashU lost 7-13 and 9-12 on Friday, March 28, before splitting Saturday with a 14-1 win and a 9-11 loss on March 29.

Case Western started strong in the first game by getting a homer to the left-center field while another player was on base. The Bears responded at the bottom of the first when they loaded all the bases. With an infield fly by senior Braden Mazone, senior Brandon Buday, who was on third base, gained an RBI, making the game 2-1.

At the bottom of the second, the Bears continued adding runs to the scoresheet. Graduate Student Josh Erpenbeck tripled to the left-center field, and soon after, graduate student Will Yarbo doubled to the left-center field, allowing Erpenbeck to score. The Bears had their first lead of the game, 3-2.

The bottom of the third was another active inning for the Bears. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, first-year Cooper Greene reached home plate with the help of Yarbro singling a ball to right field, making the game 4-2.

The Bears’ lead didn’t last long. In the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, Case Western got a few home runs and doubles, adding eight runs to the score sheet and gaining a 10-2 lead.

Case Western continued its hot streak, scoring another three runs at the top of the ninth, extending its lead to 13-4.

WashUresponded at the bottom of the ninth when Buday and graduate student Colter Couillard got on base with singles. Junior Connor Lindsey singled to left center field, allowing Couillard to advance to second and Buday to score. Following, sophomore Miles Birke singled to center field, bringing Couillard home to score. Before the inning ended, Lindsey acquired an RBI with the help of first-year Will Taigen, who singled a ball to shortstop. 

Unfortunately, this last-minute fight was insufficient, and the game ended 13-7.

“I think Case used the elements to their advantage better than we did, especially on Friday with the strong winds,” Couillard said. “They used the wind to play into their strengths of hitting the ball in the air. Their offense is also probably the best our pitching staff has [yet] to face and [they] proved to be a tough challenge.”

The second game on Saturday started with a quiet three innings. Case Western broke the silence at the top of the fourth, gaining six runs due to throwing errors and wild pitches by the Bears.

WashU quickly responded in the bottom of the fourth. Taigen started it off with a single to center field, giving graduate student Noah Reichman an RBI. Soon after, the bases were loaded. Case Western allowed three walks in the inning that gave the Bears runs to add to the score. Junior Shane Pellegrino also contributed, singling a ball to left field and bringing in two runs. The Bears took a 7-6 lead.

Case Western did not hesitate to fight back in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring an additional five runs to turn the game in their favor, 11-7.

At the bottom of the sixth, Couillard singled to right center, giving Buday another RBI, making the game 11-8. But Case Western kept retaliating by adding another run to make the game 12-8.

The Bears got one more run in the seventh inning when Braden Mazone scored on a throwing error, but this wasn’t enough to secure the win, as the game ended with the score of 12-9.

On Saturday, the Bears hoped to bounce back and win their doubleheader.

For the first game of the day, Case Western began by scoring five runs in the second and third innings, credited to WashU’s errors.

The Bears began to close the gap at the bottom of the third when Yarbro and sophomore Anthony Equale were walked. Buday singled to right field, allowing Equale to advance to third and Yarbro to score. Couillard later came in with a hit to give Equale an RBI, making the game 5-2.

At the bottom of the fourth, the Bears continued their scoring streak. Taigen advanced to second and third after a fielding error by Case Western, soon gaining an RBI. Later in the inning, Erpenbeck scored after Equale’s single to center field, making the new score 5-4.

Case Western did get another run in the fifth, but Reichman quickly responded with a home run to keep the game close at 6-5.

The score kept going back and forth between the two teams until the seventh inning when Buday stole second and soon found home plate after Reichman’s single to left field, tying the game 7-7.

Case Western got another four runs in the eighth inning, expanding the gap to 11-7. The Bears tightened the gap in the ninth when Buday scored off of a wild pitch, and Couillard scored after a single to right field from Reichman.

The Bears were too late to respond, losing their third straight game against Case, 11-9.

In the final game of the series, the Bears got on the scoreboard first. With all bases loaded, Pellegrino singled to first base, allowing Buday to score. Soon after, Tiagen singled to second base, giving Couillard room to score, making the game 2-0.

At the bottom of the second, Stephens scored on a single, and Buday scored on a throwing error by Case, expanding the lead to 4-0.

Case Western got on the board in the third inning, making the score 4-1. This was the last time Case Western saw home plate, as the Bears dominated the rest of the game. 

At the bottom of the third, Taigen scored on a wild pitch, first-year Ryan Soong scored on a single to right field from Stephens, and Buday notched a double to give Marzone an RBI. Couillard grounded out to first base to seal the inning, giving Stephens a chance to add a run to make the game 8-1. In the fifth inning, the Bears’ batting lineup had an impressive impact, adding another six runs to the score.

The Bears closed out the game 14-1, ending their losing streak and finishing the weekend off strong.

“It was tough losing three straight, but going into the fourth game, we knew that we couldn’t change what had happened,” Buday said. “All that mattered was that we had a new opportunity to respond and finish the series on a high note. It was important to maintain a positive mindset and come out with renewed energy for game four.”

Their next game is on Wednesday, April 2, against RV Webster University, where they hope to establish a winning streak. They will face more conference teams when they travel to Chicago to play The University of Chicago on April 4-6 .

“Even though we lost a few games, I think our team was trending upwards towards the end,” Couillard said. “Our offense had a good weekend overall and we hope to continue that moving forward. The key for us will be for our pitching to compete at the level we saw them do previously this year, with our offense continuing to build off the progress we made this weekend.”