The Maroons picked up a win sandwiched between two losses this weekend against Wash U. The Bears seemed to have an answer for every pitching strategy thrown at them as they put up 24 runs over the course of the two games. There were bright spots for Chicago, however. The squad pulled out a miraculous raging comeback in the second game of the three-game series.
On Saturday, the two teams split a doubleheader held in St. Louis. In the first game, the score was knotted at 2–2 early. The South Siders jumped into the lead in the top of the first, tallying both runs on an error by the opposing third baseman attempting to field a knock by third-year Kevin Tully. Wash U tied it up in the bottom of the second on a walk followed by a sac fly off second-year pitcher Thomas Prescott. The Maroons had a five-inning drought at the dish in the middle of the game, managing no more runs until the seventh. In the meantime, the Bears were able to force Prescott from the game after 4 2/3 innings, hanging up eight more runs by the end of the sixth. Second-year Ryan Krob mashed a three-run bomb in the seventh, but it turned out to be too little, too late, as his squad fell 106.
In the second game, the results were much better. By the end of the fifth, though, the Maroons were staring down the barrel of another defeat, down 9–1. They scored the next fifteen runs of the game over four innings, leaving the Bears flat on their backs. Tully garnered five RBIs during the late-game explosion, three of which came on a bases-clearing double in the seven-run ninth inning.
This scoring frenzy was highlighted by a three-run jack from first-year Michael Davis. The Maroons designated hitter said, “I was thinking low off speed, and got what looked like a low slider and just turned on it.”
Though four more runs were surrendered to Wash U in the bottom of the ninth, providing quite a scare, Chicago was able to close the game out with a 16–13 victory in an absolute whirlwind of a game. Robert Fuentes earned his first win on the mound of the season, though he only threw 2/3 of an inning. Post-game an elated Davis noted, “It was a great team win; great to come back and beat that team.”
On Sunday, the two squads were transplanted to GCS Ballpark just outside of St. Louis for a drizzly Bears senior day game. Luck was not on Maroon starter third-year pitcher Nick Watson’s side in the rubber match. He walked four in his four innings of work, giving up eight runs and picking up the loss, though he surrendered no runs in the first two innings. Center fielder and first-year Max Larsen injected some life into the visiting side’s lineup, lifting a two-run shot over the wall in the fifth. However, hopes of another comeback like the day before were dashed by Bears ace Scott Nelson, who went all 8 innings en route to the 13–3 victory.
On Tuesday, the Maroons will visit Elmhurst. The 10–20 Bluejays should be a very beatable team for the South Siders as they travel to the western suburbs.
