The WashU women’s softball team is 23-5 on the season and ranked No. 14 in the country. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
Steven Millbrook
Special to the Editor
CLAYTON, MO — The Washington University women’s softball team extended its current winning streak to nine games in a row by sweeping a doubleheader from Illinois College on Wednesday.
The Bears are now 23-5 on the season and are ranked No. 14 in the country in this week’s D3Softball.com Top 25 rankings.
Against Illinois College, WashU got two fantastic pitching performances from starters Hattie Bond and Jamie Burgasser. Both pitched complete games and kept Illinois College’s offense intact the entire day.
Bond (3-1) went seven innings and gave up just one run on seven hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. It was the sophomore’s third win and first complete game of the season.
Burgasser (10-1) also went seven innings and gave up just four hits and a walk, but she also struck out nine. It was the senior’s second straight complete game.
WashU senior Jamie Burgasser is 10-1 on the season, has a 1.69 ERA and seven complete games. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
#14 WashU 3, Illinois College 1
| NCAA Softball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois College | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| #14 WashU | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 1 |
WP: Hattie Bond – WASHU (3-1) LP: J. Closs – IC (5-3)
In Game 1, the Bears put up two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore Kennedy Grippo reached base on an error and advanced to second to lead the inning off. Senior Maggie Baumstark singled to third to put runners on the corners. Baumstark was caught stealing in a rundown, giving Grippo time to score the first run of the game. With two outs, senior Taylor Geluck drilled a homer to left-center, her third of the season.
The Bears added another run in the bottom of the second inning. Graduate student Dawson Dabboussi drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Jamie Cendana. With two outs, Sydney Schneider dropped a double into shallow left field, scoring first-year Christina Smith, who came on to run for Dabboussi.
In the top of the third inning, Ezzy Mauermann led off with a home run to left-center, making it a 3-1 game.
Geluck finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Nicholus finished 1-for-2 with a walk.
Natalia Pilpil had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run in WashU’s Game 2 win over Illinois College on Wednesday. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
#14 WashU 5, Illinois College 1
| NCAA Softball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| #14 WashU (23-5) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 5 | 11 | 0 |
WP: Jamie Burgasser – WASHU (10-1) LP: T. Henry – IC (2-6)
In the nightcap, the Bears posted three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Schneider led off with a triple to left-center and went on to score on a wild pitch. Pilpil singled to right field, and Geluck doubled to left-center. Both runners scored on a double to left-center from first-year Harper Nix.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with two outs, Grippo singled to right-center and then stole second. She scored on a Pilpil single to right, making it a 4-0 game.
Illinois College got on the board in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Mauermann drew a walk and stole second. Raegan Rezba drilled a triple to left, scoring Mauermann.
In the bottom of the fifth, with two outs, first-year Emma Dow singled to second and scored on a triple from sophomore Kristina Donaldson for the 5-1 advantage.
Schneider finished 3-for-4 with one run while Pilpil went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. Nix went 1-for-2 with two RBI and a walk.
WashU’s Erin Reardon is hitting .507 with 38 hits this season. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
WashU will be off this weekend, but will return to action next weekend, when it hosts Brandeis University for a three-game UAA conference set. The Bears will play one game at the WashU Softball Field on Friday, April 15, then complete the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 16.
2025 WASHU BEARS SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Wartburg College | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Illinois College | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Home | Illinois College | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | Wartburg College | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 21, 2025 (Friday) | 1 p.m. | Home | Illinois Wesleyan | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 21, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Illinois Wesleyan | WashU Softball Field | Canceled |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | St. Catherine | WashU Softball Field | W, 9-0 (5 Innings) |
| February 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Coe College | WashU Softball Field | W, 10-2 (5 Innings) |
| February 23, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | St. Catherine | WashU Softball Field | W, 9-3 |
| February 23, 2025 (Sunday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Coe College | WashU Softball Field | W, 12-0 (5 Innings) |
| February 28, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Central College | WashU Softball Field | L, 3-4 (8 innings) |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Central College | WashU Softball Field | W, 5-3 |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Calvin University | WashU Softball Field | L, 1-3 |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Wisconsin-Stout | WashU Softball Field | W, 6-3 |
| March 8, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Wisconsin-Stout | WashU Softball Field | W, 8-7 |
| March 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 11 a.m. PT | Away | Occidental College | Los Angeles, Calif. / Bell Field | W, 12-4 |
| March 11, 2025 (Tuesday) | 1 p.m. PT | Away | Occidental College | Los Angeles, Calif. / Bell Field | W, 15-1 (5 Innings) |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 12 p.m. PT | Away | Redlands | Redlands, Calif. / Field of Dreams | L, 2-4 |
| March 14, 2025 (Friday) | 2 p.m. PT | Away | Redlands | Redlands, Calif. / Field of Dreams | W, 7-4 |
| March 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. PT | Away | La Verne | La Verne, Calif. / Campus West Athletics Facilities | W, 12-9 (8 innings) |
| March 15, 2025 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. PT | Away | La Verne | La Verne, Calif. / Campus West Athletics Facilities | L, 1-7 |
| March 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 10 a.m. PT | Away | Whittier College | Whittier, Calif. / Palmer Field | W, 4-1 |
| March 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. PT | Away | Whittier College | Whittier, Calif. / Palmer Field | W, 6-2 |
| March 21, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve | WashU Softball Field | W, 3-2 |
| March 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve | WashU Softball Field | L, 1-4 |
| March 22, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve | WashU Softball Field | W, 3-2 |
| March 28, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. / Stagg Grass Fields | W, 1-0 |
| March 29, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. / Stagg Grass Fields | W, 5-2 |
| March 29, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. / Stagg Grass Fields | W, 4-1 |
| April 4, 2025 (Friday) | 7 p.m. ET | Away | NYU | Bronx, N.Y. | W, 3-0 |
| April 6, 2025 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. ET | Away | NYU | Bronx, N.Y. | W, 4-3 |
| April 6, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. ET | Away | NYU | Bronx, N.Y. | W, 8-1 |
| April 9, 2025 (Wednesday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Illinois College | WashU Softball Field | W, 3-1 |
| April 9, 2025 (Wednesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Illinois College | WashU Softball Field | W, 5-1 |
| April 18, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Brandeis | WashU Softball Field | |
| April 19, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Brandeis | WashU Softball Field | |
| April 19, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Home | Brandeis | WashU Softball Field | |
| April 25, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. ET | Away | Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. | |
| April 26, 2025 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. ET | Away | Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. | |
| April 26, 2025 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. ET | Away | Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. | |
| May 9, 2025 (Friday) | 1 p.m. | Home | Emory | WashU Softball Field | |
| May 9, 2025 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Emory | WashU Softball Field | |
| May 10, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Home | Emory | WashU Softball Field |