The Washington University baseball team split a doubleheader with Illinois Wesleyan University Sunday at Kelly Field, dropping the first game, 6-1, before winning the second, 8-1.

In the first contest of the afternoon, Wash. U. managed to get ahead early. In the bottom of the second inning, junior second baseman Evan Nagel legged out an infield hit to start things off. Sophomore designated hitter Andrew Kleiboeker pushed Nagel to second with a groundout to the left side. Starting against the right-handed Titan starting pitcher, sophomore first baseman AJ Dunham, a lefty batter, knocked Nagel in with a double the other way, his second extra-base hit and third RBI of the year.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

John Ostrander takes a swing against Buena Vista College March 4. Ostrander registered a hit Sunday as the Bears won the second game of their doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan.

The rally plus the Bears’ ability to take advantage of a wild pitcher—Illinois Wesleyan’s starter threw 18 strikes and 18 balls—were enough to force Illinois Wesleyan to its bullpen in just the second inning.

Unfortunately for the Red and Green, the next two Titans on the mound were far more efficient. The two combined to hold down the fort for 7.2 scoreless frames with 10 strikeouts to just two walks and three hits, firing an effective 67 strikes out of 99 pitches.

The single run the Bears produced wasn’t nearly enough to overcome freshman pitcher Ryan Loutos’s roughest start of the season. After allowing just two earned runs over the first 28 innings of his career, Loutos was uneven through 4.1 frames Sunday, allowing five runs (four earned). Loutos struck out three and walked two, ending his streak of 33 consecutive strikes without a free pass.

Two Bear relief pitchers, sophomore Matt Ashbaugh and freshman Rees Viersen, allowed just one run over the final 4.2 innings, but with the Bear offense tame, Wash. U. ultimately fell, 6-1.

In the latter contest, the Bears rebounded by getting off to an even quicker start, scoring a pair in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Wash. U. left potential runs on the board, however, with senior right fielder Auggie Mense thrown out at home plate on a squeeze attempt and sophomore center fielder John Ostrander caught stealing third base to end the inning.

The Red and Green more than made up for it in the next inning, piecing together four runs with some aid from the Titans. The scoring started with a sacrifice fly but turned into an extra run on an error by the Illinois Wesleyan catcher. After an RBI double by Wash. U.’s own catcher, sophomore Thomas Gardner, sophomore shortstop Brian Schutter drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another Bear run.

The Bears again capitalized on the Illinois Wesleyan pitchers’ inefficiencies, knocking out the Titan starter after one with 21 pitches, just nine strikes. The Bears even forced out his replacement before the end of the second inning, seeing 35 pitches (18 strikes) while making just two outs. To top it off, Wash. U. knocked out the next Titan reliever by the end of the third with just 10 strikes in 24 pitches.

Junior righty John Howard looked like he was pitching from a completely different mound, however, continuing his remarkable roll with a season-best performance. Over nine innings, Howard allowed just a single unearned run while fanning six and issuing zero free passes. With the shutout, Howard lowered his season ERA to a miniscule 1.01.

The Bears now begin a lengthy road trip, starting with a four-game series at New York University next weekend and a four-game set at Emory University the following week sandwiching a single game against No. 22 Webster University.