WashU junior Clayton Miller got the save in Game 1 and had two hits, including a homer, in Game 2 of the Bears’ doubleheader sweep on Saturday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer
CLAYTON, MO — The Washington University baseball team won both games of a doubleheader against a previously red hot Gustavus Aldophus team. The Bears won Game 1, 6-4, and took Game 2, 14-8, in a pair of games at Kelly Field on Saturday.
The two wins lifted WashU’s overall season record to 12-4, while Gustavus Aldophus, which had won five in a row, fell to 7-4.
Game 1 – WashU 6, Gustavus Aldophus 4
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gustavus Adolphus (7-3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| WashU (11-4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 12 | 2 |
WP: Miles Quemuel-Labrador – WASHU (1-0) LP: M. Casperson – GAC (3-1) SV: Clayton Miller – WASHU (4)
WashU fell behind early, but rallied in the middle innings to pull out the win in Game 1.
The big blow was a three-run home run by Evan Minarovic, a grad student transfer who played at Northwestern last season. It was his second homer of the season and it came in the fifth inning, following leadoff singles by Dax Braemer and Magnus Dunn.
The bomb over the right-centerfield wall gave WashU the lead at 4-3 and the Bears pitching staff made that edge stand.
Sophomore reliever Miles Quemuel-Labrador (1-0) pitched four innings and allowed just one run on four hits and one walk, with three strikeouts on 17 batters faced.
Junior Clayton Miller came in to pitch the ninth to get his fourth save of the season.
At the plate, Braemer and Dunn each had three hits, as did Brandon Buday. And WashU scored its first run on a solo home run by Kaden Bernhard.
Game 2 – WashU 14, Gustavus Aldophus 8
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gustavus Adolphus (7-4) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| WashU (12-4) | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | X | 14 | 15 | 1 |
WP: Zach Pearl – WASHU (1-0) LP: N. Hentges – GAC (1-1)
In Game 2, the Bears took control early by sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Then, after the Gusties scored three runs in the second to make it a game again, WashU put up a run of its own in the second and three more in the third to go up 10-3.
Gustavus Aldophus did make it 10-7 following the fifth inning, but WashU got a run in the sixth, another in the seventh, and two more in the eighth to put the game away.
Shane Pellegrino had four hits and scored three runs to lead the Bear offense, while Dunn had three hits and three runs, and Miller, Minarovic, and Connor Lindsey all had two hits for a WashU lineup that pounded out 15 hits total.
Freshman Zach Pearl (1-0) got the win, after coming in to relieve starter Owen Block.
The Bears and Gusties will play another doubleheader on Sunday. First pitch of the first game is slated for 11 a.m.
WASHU BEARS 2024 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 17, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Gustavus Adolphus College | Kelly Field | |
| March 17, 2024 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Gustavus Adolphus College | Kelly Field | |
| March 20, 2024 (Wednesday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Webster University | Sauget, Ill. / Grizzlies Ballpark | |
| March 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Wisconsin-La Crosse | Kelly Field | |
| March 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Wisconsin-La Crosse | Kelly Field | |
| March 24, 2024 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Wisconsin-La Crosse | Kelly Field | |
| March 29, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | New York University | Kelly Field | |
| March 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | New York University | Kelly Field | |
| March 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | New York University | Kelly Field | |
| March 31, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Home | New York University | Kelly Field | |
| April 3, 2024 (Wednesday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Fontbonne University | Kelly Field | |
| April 10, 2024 (Wednesday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Kelly Field | |
| April 12, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Emory University | Kelly Field | |
| April 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Emory University | Kelly Field | |
| April 13, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Emory University | Kelly Field | |
| April 14, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Emory University | Kelly Field | |
| April 19, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. EST | Away | Brandeis University | Boston, Mass. | |
| April 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. EST | Away | Brandeis University | Boston, Mass. | |
| April 20, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. EST | Away | Brandeis University | Boston, Mass. | |
| April 21, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. EST | Away | Brandeis University | Boston, Mass. | |
| April 26, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. EST | Away | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| April 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. EST | Away | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| April 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. EST | Away | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| April 28, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. EST | Away | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| May 17-19, 2024 | TBA | Neutral | NCAA Regionals | TBA | NCAA Regionals |
| May 24-26, 2024 | TBA | Neutral | NCAA Super Regionals | TBA | NCAA Super Regionals |
| May 31-June 6, 2024 | TBA | Neutral | NCAA Division III World Series | Eastlake, Ohio | NCAA Division III World Series |