From Washington University Athletics
The No. 15-ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team used a pair of dominant pitching performances to post a pair of 4-0 victories over Millikin University Saturday afternoon in St. Louis.
Junior pitcher Annie Pitkin tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout in game one with 12 strikeouts, while freshmen Mackenzie Gauden (5 IP, three hits, six strikeouts) and Maggie Clapp (2 IP, three strikeouts) combined for the three-hit shutout in game two. The Bears have recorded four-straight shutouts, and have not allowed a run in 29 innings.
Sophomore outfielder Janet Taylor went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a triple, home run and three RBIs in the doubleheader sweep, while classmate Hannah Mehrle was 4-for-6 with a run scored, triple and an RBI.
Washington U. improved to 29-9 with the two wins, while Millikin fell to 13-19. The Bears wrap up a four-game homestand with a doubleheader against Webster University Sunday, April 19, at Noon.
#15 WashU 4, Millikin 0 – Game One
The Bears scored three runs on two hits in the first inning to give Pitkin all the run support she needed. Senior Adrienne White singled to right with one out to score sophomore Kenzie James, and then Taylor launched a deep homerun to left to make it 3-0. The homerun for Taylor was her third of the season and fourth of her career.
In the third inning, White led off with a single and then moved to second after a throwing error on the shortstop. Taylor singled up the middle to push the lead to 4-0.
Taylor was 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBIs, while White was 2-for-3 with runs scored and an RBI. The Bears have seven hits in the game-one victory.
Pitkin (18-5) struck out Alyssa Voegele for the final out of the first inning to record the 500th strikeout of her career. She also topped the 200-strikeout mark for the season, and leads NCAA Division III with 204.
#15 WashU 4, Millikin 0 – Game Two
Mehrle went 3-for-3 with a run scored, triple and an RBI in game two as WashU recorded nine hits. She singled to left to drive in senior Paige Biles in the first inning to put the Bears up 1-0.
In the fourth, Taylor led off with a triple to right field and then scored on a pinch-hit RBI single by freshman Hera Tang. With Tang at third, she scored on a wild pitch to push the lead to 3-0.
Gauden (5-1) picked up the win in game two and lowered her earned run average to 2.10. She has not allowed an earned run in 14 2/3 innings pitched.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: Biles had her 19-game hitting streak snapped in game one, while she reached base in both games to extend her streak to 31 … The complete game for Pitkin was her 17th of the season and 36th of her career … White upped her career-hit total to 194 and moved into a tie for fifth place in career runs scored (120) and total bases (286) … Sophomore Kenzie James had a stolen base in game one to move into fourth in school history (44) … Pitkin moved into a tie for fifth place in career shutouts (11).