Catherine D’Orazio | Staff Photographer

No 14. WashU made an astonishing comeback, winning 23-5 after losing the opening game of the series against an unranked New York University (NYU) on April 3-5. The Bears went 3-1 against the Violets for the weekend, mercy-ruling NYU, 12-1, 23-5, and 11-1.

The Bears continued to display their excellent offensive capabilities and lineup’s consistency with 51 RBIs over the weekend. Key players, including sophomore infielder Ryan Soong, first-year catcher Jacob Witte, and senior infielder Shane Pellegrino, continue to consistently bat above .300 throughout the season. Much of the Bears’ success has come from the depth of their pitching team, including senior pitcher Isaac Zhang and graduate pitcher Chase Brickley keeping their ERAs low at 2.76 and 2.23, respectively.

Game 1 – NYU 11, WashU 5

The Bears started their doubleheader against the Violets on Friday, April 3. After a quiet first two innings, NYU took a sudden 4-0 lead in the third from hitting a grand slam. The Violets hit another home run in the fifth, increasing their lead by one.

NYU’s momentum progressed entering the seventh inning, where all bases were loaded due to wild pitches and walks. The Violets were able to add four more runs to the scoresheet, extending their lead to 9-0.

The Bears finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh when Pellegrino scored on a sacrifice fly from senior first-baseman Connor Lindsey. 

The Violets added two more runs in the eighth to take an 11-1 lead. 

WashU avoided a mercy-rule loss with a three-run home run from Soong, but the late push was not enough. 

Game 2 – WashU 12, NYU 1 (seven innings)

The Bears were determined to come back after their 11-1 loss to the Violets. 

WashU got off to a hot start in the third inning when first-year outfielder Eli Sitzer advanced from first to home on two consecutive NYU throwing errors.

With sophomore outfielder Kevin Stephens on first, Pellegrino hit the first WashU home run of the weekend putting the Bears up 3-0. Sophomore infielder Cooper Greene added an RBI double for the Bears, allowing Soong to score.

Despite a run from the Violets in the fifth, WashU quickly responded, sealing the game 12-1 in seven innings. 

Zhang stayed busy during the whole game, pitching all seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk.

“It’s all about the bounce back,” Zhang said in a postgame press conference on FloSports. “I try to keep a short memory and just focus on the present. So, I just try to do my job, throw strikes, let my defense play, and it [works] out.”

Game 3 – WashU 23, NYU 5 (seven innings)

In their third game of the weekend, the Bears came out firing with seven runs in the first inning.

WashU improved to a 3-1 lead with a single from Witte. The rest of the first inning was busy after Stephens hit a sacrifice fly that led to an RBI for Greene. The Bears had three more runs in the inning before a brief lull.

The Violets finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the third, bringing the score to 9-2, where it would remain until the Bears had two runs in the bottom of the fifth. However, this did not phase WashU, which responded with 12 runs in the sixth inning.

“Hitting is really contagious,” Witte said in the press conference. “Once you see another guy have a great at-bat, you want to do the same … Coaches preach passing the baton and making sure we have good at-bats every at-bat, and [we’re] not giving good at-bats away.”

In the seventh inning the Bears kept the momentum, notching run after run to put NYU away 23-5. In the seventh, first-year catcher Kanten Smith pinch hit a double for his first collegiate at-bat.

Game 4 – WashU 11, NYU 1 (seven innings)

The Bears wasted no time getting on the board in the first inning when first-year infielder Chance Cromer scored on a wild pitch, followed by a single from junior infielder Anthony Equale and two RBIs that scored Witte and Greene. With no runs from the Violets, the score remained 3-0 at the conclusion of the first.

After the opening inning, the game remained scoreless until the top of the third when NYU made their only run of the game from a wild pitch. 

Greene scored a run in the fifth after a double from Equale. Equale got to home plate as well after junior catcher Miles Birke singled to the left side. 

A similar sequence unfolded in the sixth inning: Soong singled to bring Cromer home, and then also scored on a sacrifice fly from Witte, closing the inning with a 7-1 WashU lead. Four more runs in the seventh inning rounded out the weekend for WashU.

After an eventful weekend, the action will continue at home when WashU faces Emory University on April 10 for another four-game series. This will be a good test for the Bears, as Emory is in the lead in the University Athletic Association with a 6-2 conference record, compared to WashU’s 5-3 conference record.