Junior Maggie Baumstark takes a swing against Wartburg. (Jialing Sun | Student Life)

The Washington University softball team seemed to experience deja vu on Sunday, March 24. While the Bears carried an 8-1 lead into the seventh inning, the Spalding University Golden Eagles threatened, loading the bases to begin the frame. A Spalding comeback seemed improbable, but the Golden Eagles had just achieved the improbable the day before, when they scored eight unanswered runs to erase a 7-0 WashU lead.

The game against Spalding was not the only time the Bears found themselves in a familiar situation on Sunday. Earlier that day, the Bears took on the Wartburg College Knights, a team they had also lost to 4-0 the day before. When Wartburg opened the scoring in the second game with a two-run home run, it seemed as though the teams were headed to a similar result.

However, WashU was able to rebound against both teams on Sunday. Against Spalding, junior pitcher Jordan Rossi was able to escape the jam in the seventh with only one run allowed, securing the Bears’ victory with a score of 8-2. Against Wartburg, the Bears came back for a 4-3 victory.

The Bears’ 2-2 record over the weekend puts them at 11-5 overall entering conference play. After Sunday’s games, head softball coach Casey Cromwell commented on the team’s turnaround.

“Yesterday just didn’t look like WashU softball,” she said. “We’ve grown and learned a lot from the losses that we’ve had.”

After winning two games over Fontbonne University earlier in the week, the Bears started the four-game weekend with the two losses on Saturday, falling first to Wartburg and then blowing a lead against Spalding.

In the Saturday game against Wartburg, the Knights opened the scoring in the third inning. In the next inning, the Knights drove in two more runs, extending the lead to 3-0. Wartburg tacked on another insurance run in the sixth.

Meanwhile, Wartburg’s pitcher held the Bears to just four hits and no runs in a complete game, shutting WashU out for the first time this season. WashU first-year pitcher Maria Brooks, who had allowed just one run in 22.2 innings entering the game, allowed four runs in seven innings.

Despite the Bears’ lack of offense in the first game on Saturday, the bats responded against Spalding later that afternoon with seven runs in the first four innings. 

With two outs in the second inning, the Bears strung together five straight hits to take a 3-0 lead. The burst was led by junior Brooke Capparell and a two-RBI base hit by junior Erin Reardon, and capped off with an RBI single from first-year Kennedy Grippo to score Reardon.

“Something we really emphasize, especially when we get in tight situations, is trusting the person in front of you and behind you,” Reardon said. “Just trying to pass the bat down the lineup instead of trying to do anything too big.”

The Bears stuck to this mentality in the fourth inning, as RBI doubles from juniors Olivia Craycraft and Taylor Geluck stretched the lead to 5-0. First-year Kristina Donaldson and sophomore catcher Alexa Hanish added RBI singles to extend the Bears’ lead to 7-0.

However, the Golden Eagles came storming back one inning later. After six straight singles to open the inning cut the lead to 7-3, the Bears brought in senior Emma Urban to pitch, relieving first-year starter Hattie Bond. But the pitching change could not stop the Golden Eagles’ momentum, as they added four runs on four more hits, tying the game. 

While shortstop Craycraft was able to throw out the go-ahead run at home to end the fifth inning, Spalding scored on a passed ball in the sixth, taking an 8-7 lead. This held up to be the final score as the Bears went hitless in the sixth and seventh innings.

“I don’t know exactly what was different today,” Reardon said on Saturday. “I think it just gets to a point in the season where you’re really having to fight for every pitch.”

Junior Jamie Burgasser leads the team with a 1.12 ERA. (Jialing Sun | Student Life)

On Sunday, the Bears had the chance to make up for their losses, playing both Wartburg and Spalding in another doubleheader. After the early home run gave Wartburg a 2-0 lead, the Bears came back to tie the game in the second inning. In their next turn up to bat, however, Wartburg took the lead back with an RBI single and was able to hold the score at 3-2 until the sixth inning. 

WashU broke through in the sixth with two outs and runners on second and third base. Right after senior pinch runner Emily Talkow scored on a wild pitch, Capparelli drove the Wartburg pitcher’s full-count offering into right-center field for a double, giving the Bears a 4-3 lead.

“All I was thinking was ‘You need to hit the ball, you need to get on base,’” Capparelli said. “Your team’s there for you, everyone’s cheering for you, just drive the ball somewhere where it can land.”

Junior Jamie Burgasser pitched 6.1 innings and got the win for the Bears, improving to 3-1 with a team-leading 1.12 ERA. Brooks secured the final two outs for WashU, earning her first save this season. After taking the loss the day before against Wartburg, Brooks was eager to get back out onto the field.

“She texted me and said ‘redemption day,’” Cromwell said.

The Bears kept their momentum going against Spalding, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After junior Natalia Pilpil opened the scoring with an RBI double, senior Ashley Kennedy drove a two-run home run to left center, her second homer of the season.

WashU scored in each of the next two innings to take a 6-0 lead after three. Spalding got a run back in the top of the fifth inning, but in the bottom half, the Bears stretched the score to 8-1. In the seventh, Rossi secured the win for the Bears, earning a complete-game victory on the mound.

After the game, Cromwell spoke about the team’s ability to rebound from the previous day’s losses.

“This resilient and complete change from Saturday to Sunday just shows them, and I think [this win] reminds us all just how good of a softball program we are. And it’s exciting moving into conference with that.”

The Bears will next take the field on Friday, March 29, when they begin conference play against Brandeis University.