Senior Hank Weiss pitches in the Bears season opener against Aurora. (Eran Fann | Staff Photographer)

The WashU baseball team opened their season, defeating Aurora College 6-1 and 4-1 in a doubleheader on Feb. 23. 

“Going into the series, we knew Aurora would be a tough opponent,” junior Shane Pellegrino said. “Nonetheless, we still wanted to sweep the series. Every win is important, especially against a top team in our region.”

The first game started with a quiet first inning, during which neither team produced momentum. It was in the second inning that activity started to occur. At the top of the second, the Spartans notched the game’s first run when a ball was hit to center field, allowing a second-base player to run to home plate.

It was not until the bottom of the third that the Bears replied. Senior Brandon Buday grounded out, allowing first-year Kevin Stephens to advance to second and sophomore Anthony Equale to third. Right after, Pellegrino hit to right center field, bringing in two RBIs where Stephens and Equale scored, giving WashU a 2-1 lead through three innings.

At the bottom of the fifth, the Bears scored two more runs to widen the gap to 4-1. Buday made a nice hit to right field, and with his speed, he slid to third base without trouble. 

“Running bases has always come pretty natural to me,” Buday said. “Being fast helps, but it’s also important to take an efficient route. Off the bat, I instantly thought triple; it was just a matter of getting there.”

Pellegrino chimed in by stealing second base after getting hit by a pitch. With graduate student Colter Couillard-Rodak up to bat, his foul out to left field allowed Buday to score for the Bears. Soon after, graduate student Noah Reichman sent a ball to left-center, bringing Pellegrino home to score.

Aurora remained struggling as they kept popping fly balls, making it easy for the Bears to keep the score in their favor.

During the sixth inning, graduate student Will Yarbro was walked and soon advanced to second and third with the help of Equale and Stephens. Buday made another ground hit to the Aurora short-stop, giving Yarbro room to add another RBI to the Bears scoresheet. The game was 5-1 at the end of the sixth.

The Bears’ pitching rotation was quite the threat, as they struck out two Spartan players at the top of the eighth.

To finish off the scoring streak, the Bears gave first-year Will Taigen his first-ever collegiate scored run. Equale got a hit to bring Taigen to second base, and Buday sealed the play, hitting down left field to bring the first-year to home plate.

“It was very exciting to score,” Taigen said. “It’s been an enjoyable offseason with the team, but nothing beats the excitement of Opening Day. It felt great to score to help the team and kind of build on that excitement.”

The Bears ended the game by striking out the Spartans and beating them with a final score of 6-1.

Later in the day, the Bears played the Spartans for a second time, hoping to start their season with a two-game sweep.

The second game started with a scoreless first two innings on both sides. Buday gave the Bears the lead at the bottom of the third, batting a ball to left field, allowing Equale to bring a run in. 

In the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, the Bears’ pitching team did a tremendous job keeping the Spartans off the scoresheet by outing the first three players up to bat. Sophomore Levi Gingerich pitched six innings in his collegiate debut and struck out six batters. He was named University Athletic Association player of the week for pitching. The Spartans struggled to get the ball out of the Bears’ reach. WashU also hit a rough patch during these innings because they could get on base but fell short of gaining a run.

After the last three silent innings, the Spartans finally responded by tying the game 1-1 at the top of the eighth. A single by one of their players allowed a man on third base to add a run to the scoresheet.

Given the skill and determination of the Bears, it was safe to assume that they didn’t give up. At the bottom of the eighth, Pellegrino and Couillard-Rodak were on first and second base when Reichman slammed a homer to left field. This clutch play towards the end of the game brought the Bears to a comfortable 4-1 lead.

“I think Carson’s big catch in right field, which led to the inning-ending double play, was the big spark for us,” Pellegrino said. “After that catch, all the momentum went to us, and we were able to put up some runs thanks to Noah’s home run.”

As the Spartans desperately looked for a sliver of hope to make a comeback, they could not escape the Bears’ effective defense. Buday talked about

“The key to our success as a team was all about confidence and trust in one another,” Buday said. “We’ve put in a great deal of work this past offseason, and we were very confident in our abilities.”

The Bears proved that they were ready to conquer their first two wins of the season. They will face Fontbonne University next, on Feb. 23 in the final “Wydown Showdown.” The game will be the last-ever matchup between the two colleges, and the Bears hope to end the rivalry with a win for the history books.

This article was updated on Feb. 26 to include additional reporting.