WashU's John Howard tossed seven shutout innings on Friday afternoon as the Emory University baseball team dropped the series opener to No.-16 ranked Washington University by a score of 8-1.

Howard held the Eagles offense to just three hits and two walks as he improved to 8-0 on the year. He struck out five in the outing.

The Bears did the most of their damage in the early goings against junior Richard Brereton, scoring seven runs across the first four frames. Brereton fell to 2-1 after allowing six earned runs on eight hits and two walks in four innings of work while striking out a pair. Senior Brian Taggett pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out two compared to just one hit and walk allowed.

Senior Bubby Terp cashed in on an RBI opportunity in the eighth, scoring junior Ryan Adelman with a single to right. The Eagles threatened for more later in the inning as sophomore Michael Edelman stepped to the plate with the bases loaded but was retired on strikes to end the inning.

The defacto UAA championship series continues on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 PM EST. With the loss on Friday, Emory needs to go 3-0 or 2-1 in the remaining three contests to keep their UAA title hopes alive. A 4-0 or 3-1 mark by WashU in the series will give the title to the Bears.

Watch the Saturday double dip here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wustl/.