From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis softball team recorded a doubleheader sweep of (RV) Wartburg on Sunday on a historic day in their first two home games at their brand-new field.
WashU put forth a great effort in both games, winning game one 7-2 and game two by a score of 9-3.
Before the games began, the softball program honored former alum and standout Laurel Sagartz for a ceremonial first pitch on the new field. Sagartz is the most dynamic softball pitcher in school history, earning All-America honors four times in her career. She a member of the WashU Sports Hall of Fame, and helped guide the Bears to a second-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Championship and a berth in the College World Series for the first time in school history.
The Bears are currently 6-2 on the year and Wartburg moves to 10-4 on the season following Sunday's games.
Game one- WashU 7, Wartburg 2
Holly Stoner had a fantastic outing in game one, collecting the victory in the circle, tossing a complete game with four strikeouts.
After a scoreless first frame, the Bears struck first with two runs in the second. Eimear Cunningham connected on an RBI double to score Payton Irwin for a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, WU tallied another run thanks to an RBI triple from Nicole Hay.
WashU had a big third inning with timely hitting and solid baserunning, finishing the frame with five runs on five hits.
Tami Wong got things started with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Maggie Baumstark, who reached with a lead-off double.
With the bases juiced, Cunningham stepped up and delivered a two-RBI single to right, making it a 5-0 ballgame.
Hay, who tripled earlier in the contest, produced a two-RBI up the middle, scoring both Cunningham and Natalia Pilpil.
With a 7-0 lead, the Bears turned to Stoner in the circle, who pitched six scoreless innings in the victory.
Wartburg scored two runs in the top of the fourth on three hits, but would be shutout in the final three innings.
The Knights were limited to only two hits in the fifth-sixth-and-seventh innings, as Stoner remained in a groove in the circle.
Cunningham and Hay both recorded three RBI apiece and a multi-hit game with two hits each in game one.
Game two- WashU 9, Wartburg 3
The Bears got another great outing in the circle in game two, this time from Jamie Burgasser, who tossed a complete game and registered five strikeouts.
With five runs on five hits in the first inning, WashU wasted no time in building a sizable lead.
Katie Gould, who notched a three-hit performance in game two, got the Bears' bats rolling with a leadoff single.
Tami Wong's RBI single later in the inning would score Gould for a 1-0 lead. WashU's timely hitting was executed to perfection moments later as Pilpil drilled a two-RBI triple to right-center, scoring both Wong and Baumstark.
Leading 3-0, the Bears' two other runs in the inning came from an RBI double from Cunningham and an infield single RBI from Brooke Capparelli.
WU led 5-2 heading into the bottom of the second, but the Bears weren't done yet and added two more runs of insurance, as Baumstark smacked an RBI double to right, scoring Gould.
Baumstark would later score in the inning off a wild pitch to push the Bears in front 7-2.
The Knights cut the lead down to 7-3 following an RBI single in the fourth, and in the sixth, threatened with the bases loaded and only one out.
Burgasser locked in and recorded the final two outs of the inning on a putout at home from a fielder's choice and a lineout to centerfield.
In the bottom half of the sixth, the Bears left no doubt as Payton Irwin's two-RBI homer to left sealed the deal, marking the first home run for the Bears on their new turf field.
WashU finished game two with 13 hits, as four Bears notched multi-hit games (Irwin, Pilpil, Baumstark, and Wong).