WashU junior Anthony Equale had three hits in the Bears’ regional semifinal win over Aurora on Saturday. (Photo courtesy: WashU Athletics)
DANVILLE, KY — The Washington University baseball team kept its season alive with a 12-5 elimination game win, last Saturday night against Aurora University.
The Bears had lost earlier in the day to enter the Loser’s Bracket of the NCAA Division III Danville Regional Tournament and needed to win against Aurora to keep their season alive.
And WashU got it done, thanks to a brilliant night at the plate for the Bears, in which every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit, one RBI, and one run scored.
WashU’s Shane Pellegrino had three hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored in the Bears’ win over Aurora on Saturday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
Senior shortstop Shane Pellegrino had a huge night for WashU, with three hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored. The four-year starter and three-time All-UAA performer helped WashU grab the initial lead with an RBI single, which scored teammate Ryan Soong, who had tripled in a run, to make the score 2-0.
Three batters later, sophomore left fielder Will Taigen singled home two runs to put WashU up 4-0. The Bears added three more runs in the second — two on a bases-clearing double by Pellegrino — to jump ahead 7-0.
WashU added two more runs in third, a single run in the fourth, and two more scores in the fifth to lead 12-1 heading into the sixth. The Bears finished with 16 hits in the game.
That was more than enough for WashU pitchers, who held Aurora to just eight hits on the night, led by junior starter Parker Guthrie (5-2), who went six innings and allowed just one run on three hits, with two walks and six strikeouts.
Relievers Miles Quemuel-Labrador and Alex Ardemagni finished off the night to help get the Bears to the regional championship round on Sunday.
WashU will face Piedmont again and needs to defeat the Lions twice to claim the regional title. If Piedmont wins either game, it will be declared regional champion and will advance to next weekend’s NCAA Division III Super Regionals to face defending Super Regional champion, Denison University.
2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Danville Regional in Danville, KY
First Round – May 15
Game 1 – #3 Aurora vs. #2 WashU — WashU won 7-0
Game 2 – #4 Piedmont at #1 Centre — Piedmont won 3-2
Elimination Game – May 16
Game 3 – #3 Aurora vs. #1 Centre — Aurora won 10-6
Winner’s Bracket – May 16
Game 4 – #2 WashU vs. #4 Piedmont — Piedmont won 5-4
Elimination Game – May 16
Game 5 – #3 Aurora vs. #2 WashU — WashU won 12-5
Championship Round – May 17
Game 6 – #4 Piedmont vs. #2 WashU — 10 am
Championship Round – May 17 (if necessary)
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 — 1:30 pm
Winner will advance to Super Regionals to play winner of Denison Regional.