WashU’s Zac Malis (14) is congratulated by his teammates, after hitting the game-winning home run in the Bears’ 5-4 win over Fontbonne on Thursday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontbonne (8-16) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| WashU (18-9) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
WP: Zach Pearl – WashU (2-0) LP: K. Horton – FU (1-1)
Steven Millbrook
Staff Writer
CLAYTON, MO — Down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, in Thursday’s matchup against longtime crosstown rival, Fontbonne University, the Washington University Bears needed a pick me up if it was going to pull out a victory.
And like they have most of this season, the Bears got what they needed when they needed it most, as senior designated hitter Zac Malis delivered a deep-fly, two-run home run over the right field fence to lift WashU to a 5-4 win over the visiting Griffins.
The homer was Malis’ third of the season and second within a week, as he also homered in the Bears’ win last Friday against NYU.
The victory lifted WashU’s record to 18-9 and was the club’s fourth win in its last five games. Fontbonne’s record is 8-16.
Junior pitcher Sebastian Guzman earned the start on the mound for the Bears, and went 4 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on five hits and one walk. Guzman also struck out a career-high 11 Fontbonne batters in what was one of his best outings of the season.
He was removed from the game early due to an injury issue that wouldn’t allow him to complete the fifth inning. WashU was leading 2-1 at the time.
Junior Hank Weiss came on to get the final out of the fifth and pitched the sixth, but he did give up the lead as Fontbonne scored a run to tie the game at 2.
The Griffins took the lead in the seventh, when they got a lead off triple, then a two-out double, and a two-out single to go ahead 4-2.
WashU got a run back in the bottom of the seventh, when Sam Polk led off with a single and Malis followed with a double. That put runners at second and third, with nobody out, and Parker Guthrie capitalized with a sacrifice fly to score Polk and make 4-3 Fontbonne.
The Griffins went three-up, three-down in both the eighth and ninth innings, which set the stage for the dramatic bottom of the ninth.
Polk got the rally going with a one-out single. And while most in the crowd wondered if the would try to steal second to get himself into scoring position, Malis drilled a 2-2 pitch over everything in right field to produce two runs and win the game for the Bears.
Freshman reliever Zach Pearl (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win.
Polk had two hits and Malis had three to power the WashU offense. Fontbonne’s Tyler Kueper and Clay Shivers both had three hits.
The Bears will enjoy a rare weekend off this weekend, before returning to action for their final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday, April 9, when they’ll host Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. First pitch that day at Kelly Field is set for 3 p.m.
| Logo | Team | Inning | Play Description | FONT | WASHU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | FONT | 1st | B. Beers doubled to right center, RBI; T. Kueper scored. | 1 | 0 |
 | WASHU | 3rd | H. Mauterer flied out to cf, sacrifice fly, RBI; M. Dunn scored. | 1 | 1 |
| WASHU | 4th | E. Minarovic scored on a wild pitch. | 1 | 2 |
| FONT | 6th | N. Walker grounded out to 2b, RBI; B. Beers advanced to third; C. Shivers scored. | 2 | 2 |
| FONT | 7th | T. Kueper doubled down the rf line, RBI; D. Groves scored. | 3 | 2 |
| FONT | 7th | C. Shivers singled up the middle, RBI; T. Kueper scored. | 4 | 2 |
| WASHU | 7th | P. Guthrie flied out to lf, sacrifice fly, RBI; S. Polk scored. | 4 | 3 |
| WASHU | 9th | Z. Malis (3) homered down the rf line, 2 RBI; S. Polk scored. | 4 | 5 |
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