From Washington University Athletics
Senior starting pitcher Brad Margolin delivered the Washington University in St. Louis baseball team to a 3-0 victory over No. 10 Emory University Friday evening as the Bears opened up University Athletic Association (UAA) play against the Eagles at Kelly Field.
WashU improved to 13-5 overall and 1-0 in the UAA while Emory now stands at 19-8 with a 2-3 UAA record. Margolin collected his fifth victory of the season during the complete game one-hit shutout performance. The Northbrook, Ill.-native also struck out nine Eagles while walking just a single batter.
The Bears totaled nine hits as Emory's starting pitcher Billy Dimlow kept the game close for the Eagles. Dimlow entered the contest leading the UAA in strikeouts (60) and with five victories but the Bears struck first in what proved to be the winning run during the bottom of the fourth inning.
Sophomore Auggie Mense hit a grounder to the left side of the infield for an infield single before senior Ben Browdy extended his hitting streak to 37-straight games with a drive to deep right field for a double. Senior Christian Santos hit a chopper towards the shortstop as Mense got a good break on the ball to score as the throw was directed to first base. Dimlow worked his way out of the one-out jam with a grounder and fly ball which kept the score 1-0 in favor of the Bears.
The Eagles attempted to answer back in the top of the fourth with a two-out walk by Brian Hernandez who advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt. However, Margolin crafted his way out of the inning when he got the Eagles' cleanup hitter to swing and miss for the final out of the frame.
The Bears capitalized on a leadoff walk from senior Ted Daley in the fifth. Daley worked a full count before laying off of the payoff pitch to earn a base-on-balls and advanced to second base on a well executed sacrifice bunt from senior Tate Maider. Sophomore Evan Nagel plated Daley with a line drive single to centerfield which increased the Bears lead to 2-0.
Despite Emory's lone hit in the sixth inning, Margolin continued to cruise as he pitched around multiple Bears' errors in the final two innings. WashU's senior shortstop Austin Darmawan knocked in Daley for the final run of the game in the seventh.
The Eagles threatened in the ninth inning when leadoff man Nick Chambers reached second base on a throwing error but Margolin erased the scoring chance with three straight strikeouts to closeout the third shutout victory of his career. In the victory over Emory, Margolin allowed the fewest hits of any shutout with more strikeouts than his previous two from last season, Apr. 22 against MacMurry (6-0) and May 18 against Augustana (8-0).
Mense and Browdy both finished the night going 2-for-4 as Mense scored the game's winning run in the fourth. Darmawan, Santos and Nagel knocked in WashU's three runs. Daley led the Bears with two runs while Mense has scored in five consecutive games during the Bears six-game winning streak.