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Big Seventh Inning Propels Bears to 13-1 Win Over Iowa Wesleyan

Big Seventh Inning Propels Bears to 13-1 Win Over Iowa Wesleyan

From Washington University Athletics

A strong pitching performance by junior Julian Clarke and a seven-run seventh inning by the offense lifted the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team to a 13-1 win over Iowa Wesleyan College Wednesday afternoon at Kelly Field.

Leading 4-1, WashU broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh, sending 12 batters to the plate to score seven runs on eight hits. Seniors Chris Lowery and Zack Kessinger each had one-out RBI singles, and sophomore CJ Price followed with a two-RBI double to make it 8-1. Junior Kyle Kozak doubled in a run with two outs. Sophomore Christian Santos drew a walk and senior Andrew Goldstick hit his second single of the inning to load the bases. Freshman Conor O'Hara then hit a two-RBI single up the middle to push the lead to 11-1 before a strikeout ended the inning. The Bears added a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by senior Brandon Deger and an RBI single by Kozak to make the final score 13-1.

WashU took advantage of a pair of Iowa Wesleyan errors in the bottom of the first and Lowery drove in his 57th run of the season to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. WashU was held without a hit until the bottom of the fifth, when Kozak and Santos hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Goldstick reached on a suicide squeeze bunt that scored Kozak before Santos scored on a double play to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Bears added a run in the bottom of the sixth when Kessinger hit a one-out single and Price doubled down the left-field line to make it 4-0 in favor of the Bears. Iowa Wesleyan got four singles to get on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh, but Clarke got a called strikeout and a groundout to get out of the inning as the Tigers left the bases loaded trailing 4-1. 

After being held without a hit through the first four innings, WashU finished with 14 hits in innings five through eight. Iowa Wesleyan tallied nine hits in the game, four of which came in the seventh inning. Clarke (4-2) earned the win on the mound for the Bears, equaling his career-high with eight strikeouts while giving up one run on eight hits and just one walk in seven complete innings. Senior Ian Kelso and sophomore Matt Clohisy pitched the eighth and ninth innings for the Bears, and each recorded one strikeout.

Offensively, nine different individuals recorded hits in the game for the Bears. Kozak finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Price was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, two walks, three RBIs and a run. Goldstick (2-for-3, RBI, run) and Kessinger (2-for-4, RBI, two runs) also had two hits apiece.

WashU is scheduled to return to action with four games in Greencastle, Ind., Saturday and Sunday. The Bears are set to face Case Western Reserve University at 1 p.m. (ET) Saturday, followed by a game at 4 against host DePauw University. WashU will then take on DePauw at 10 a.m. (ET) and Case at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday.

Bear Notebook: It was the fourth straight win for the Bears, who have won seven of their last eight games … WashU defeated Iowa Wesleyan 15-10 in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, a week ago … It was the 24th game this season the Bears have totaled double-digit hits, and eighth time in the last nine games … Lowery had two RBIs to move past Brandon Rogalski (2009-12) for fourth on the WashU career RBIs list with 143 … Kessinger extended his reached base streak to 43 straight games dating to April 30, 2014, tied for the seventh-longest streak in NCAA Division III history … Goldstick made his 155th career start at shortstop … It was the fourth time in his last five starts that Clarke has pitched at least seven complete innings … Lowery now has 70 hits and 58 RBIs this season … The 10 strikeouts by the WashU pitchers equaled the Bears' season-high.