Scott BresslerThe Washington University softball team split a pair of home games on Sunday after their tournament, scheduled for a day earlier in Iowa, was cancelled due to inclement weather.
After rallying to earn a share of the UAA title in Altamonte Springs, Fla. over spring break, the Bears were hosting their first home games of the season. The Red and Green dropped the opener, falling 4-3 in a seesaw battle with Webster University. The hosts got on the board first when senior Jamie Kressel’s sacrifice fly scored freshman Carter Malouf.
The Gorloks of Webster scored the next three runs off senior Abby Morgan, capped by a two run homerun by designated hitter Gail Vogt.
The Bears stormed back, however, with a rally in the fourth. A single by sophomore Lindsay Cavarra was followed by an opposite field double by junior Amy Vukovich, her second two-bagger of the game.
The lead was cut in half after an RBI groundout by sophomore Kerry Kreitman scored Cavarra. Coach Leticia Pineda-Boutte pinch hit for senior Krista Swip with two outs and a runner on third, and Swip delivered with the game tying RBI single, plating Vukovich.
The Bears momentum was short-lived, however, as Webster struck back in the top of the fifth. Facing her first batter of the game, Wash. U. senior Laurel Sagartz surrendered a home run to catcher Dana Vahey, breaking the tie and giving the Gorloks all they needed for the victory. Sagartz did not allow a hit in the remainder of her three innings, but it was too little, too late as Wash. U. could not recover.
The Bears would recover quickly in the second game, as Sagartz out-dueled Maryville’s Erin Clark for a 2-0 victory. Sagartz was dominant, scattering just three hits and three walks over the seven innings, while fanning ten.
Wash. U. would get all the offense it needed when Kressel doubled in Malouf in the bottom of the third inning. The RBI was Kressel’s 15th of the season which leads the team in that department. Wash. U. added an insurance run when Cavarra singled in junior Kaylyn Eash in the fifth.
The Bears are now 11-5 and are currently ranked No. 16 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Associated Division III Top 25 Poll. The Bears hit the road on Wednesday for a match up with Greenville College in Greenville, Ill. They return home on Saturday to host Millikin University.