MHM

Sophomore Townsend Stevenson pitches a no-hitter on March 22. (courtesy of Micah Manuel)

Coming off a road series split against University Athletic Association (UAA) opponent New York University, the Bears faced a busy five-game week at home. They played a non-conference matchup against Eureka University on Wednesday, April 16, and four crucial conference games against Brandeis University from April 18-20. The Bears were victorious in all five contests, outscoring their opponents 36 to 8 this week. This improves their conference record to 8-8 and overall record to 22-13 heading into the last week of regular season play. 

The doubleheader on Friday, April 18, was played in honor of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month, and the doubleheader on Sunday, April 20 was played in honor of The HardyStrong Foundation, a charity dedicated to stomach cancer prevention that commemorates the life of former Bears basketball player Justin Hardy. 

Game One – WashU: 12, Eureka: 2 (Eight Innings)

The Bears got off to a hot start in this non-conference matchup, never relinquishing the lead. They scored one run apiece in the first and second innings, which came from an RBI single from graduate student Noah Reichman and a triple from graduate student Colter Couillard-Rodak that was followed by a balk. WashU opened up the game further in the third, adding four runs on six hits.

Sophomore Anderson Gomez started on the mound for the Bears, throwing four scoreless innings with just 33 pitches. Four more of WashU’s pitchers got work on the mound, with junior Miles Quemuel-Labrador earning his third win of the season. The pitching staff limited Eureka to just two runs, both scored in the fifth inning when the Red Devils were already well behind. 

The Bears continued to increase their lead after the fifth, adding at least one run in each inning after that to win with a final score of 12-2. The Bears recorded 15 hits on the day, with standout performances including Couillard-Rodak’s two doubles and a triple and sophomore Carson Cleage’s two hits and three RBIs.Game Two – WashU: 10, Brandeis: 4

The Bears carried their momentum from the Eureka game into the first game of the Brandeis  doubleheader, picking up right where they left off. Senior Brandon Buday led off the game with a triple, earning his first of five hits of the day. Buday hit for the cycle in this game, a rare and impressive feat in which a player records a single, double, triple, and home run in one game. Buday scored in the first on an infield single from Couillard-Rodak, putting the Bears on the scoreboard right away. 

Buday added two more runs with an RBI double in the second inning, scoring sophomore Anthony Equale and Cleage. Not done yet, Buday homered in the fourth inning, extending the Bears’ lead to 4-0. The power surge continued in the sixth, with Cleage and Reichman adding home runs to put the Bears up 8-0. Buday completed his cycle in the sixth with a single to left.

Senior pitcher Hank Weiss started the game and shut down the Judges for six innings, earning the win while allowing no runs and striking out 11. He was relieved by Gomez, and graduate student Josh Erpenbeck recorded the final out for the Bears. The Bears’ defense was spotless, committing no errors in the game.

The Bears scored one run in the seventh and eighth innings, putting the game out of reach despite the Judges’ rallying for four runs across the eighth and ninth. 

Game Three – WashU: 9, Brandeis: 2

Despite the high score, the second game of Friday’s doubleheader was a pitchers’ duel for the first half of the game. Sophomore pitcher Townsend Stevenson squared off against Brandeis’ Andrew Tringe, both pitchers holding the other team scoreless through five innings. 

The Judges struck first in the top of the sixth, loading up the bases with no outs against Stevenson. Quemuel-Labrador replaced him on the mound, finishing the inning with just one run allowed. The Bears wasted no time responding, adding two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch and an RBI single from Reichman. WashU then put the game away in the seventh inning, adding four runs on four hits, including a home run from senior Braden Mazone. Although Brandeis scored another run in the eighth, the Bears responded with three more to cement the final score of 9-2. 

Quemuel-Labrador earned his fourth win of the season, lasting two innings before he was replaced by sophomore Parker Guthrie, who finished the game with two scoreless innings. With two games already secured, the Bears went into Sunday’s doubleheader hungry to win the series.

Game Four – WashU: 4, Brandeis: 0

This Sunday morning matchup started off similarly to the previous game, with each pitcher holding the other team scoreless for the first three innings. This time, the Bears got on the board first, with first-year Cooper Greene scoring Couillard-Rodak on an RBI groundout. Greene added another run in the sixth with an RBI triple, putting them up 2-0. The Bears made the score 4-0 in the seventh with an RBI walk from Reichman and a sacrifice fly from junior Shane Pellegrino.

Junior Isaac Zhang started the game and had a stellar performance, throwing a complete game shutout with just 86 pitches. He allowed only four hits, struck out seven, and walked none. This lowered his season ERA to 1.78, second only to Weiss for the best mark in the entire conference. The Bears’ defense was flawless behind Zhang, making no errors en route to this shutout victory. With the series officially won, the Bears looked to complete the sweep in the final game. 

Game Five – WashU: 1, Brandeis: 0

Keeping with the theme of this series, the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader was scoreless for the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Bears finally put together a rally, beginning with a leadoff walk from first-year Will Taigen. Sophomore Miles Birke then singled to left field, with Taigen showing off his speed by advancing to third. With runners on the corners, first-year Kevin Stephens layed down a perfect sacrifice bunt to score Taigen, making it 1-0 Bears. 

This is where the score remained for the rest of the game, a credit to another excellent performance from the Bears’ pitching staff and defense. First-year Levi Gingerich started on the mound, earning the first win of his career by throwing six shutout innings. He battled through  one hit and five walks, ultimately stranding seven Brandeis runners on base. Senior Sebastian Guzman relieved him, tossing a scoreless seventh before turning it over to sophomore Owen Block. He shut the door on the Judges, recording the final six outs and his first save of the season to complete the Bears’ sweep. 

The Bears conference record is now 8-8, putting them in fourth place heading into the final week of the regular season. They will play the No. 22 Webster University at home on Tuesday, April 22, and then travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to finish out conference play with four games against Emory University, which received votes in the latest national poll of the top 25 Division III baseball teams in the nation, making these games incredibly important for the Bears’ pursuit of a bid to the NCAA tournament. Coming off a strong week, they look to end the regular season on a high note.