Sports

Baseball team ties best-ever start

The baseball team went 8-0 last week to improve to 24-4 overall, tying the best 28-game start in school history.

The Red and Green opened the week March 28 with a 6-1 win against Division II foe University of Missouri-Rolla. WUSTL then swept Maryville University, 4-3 and 14-0, on March 29 at Kelly Field. Junior Kent Wallace pitched a complete game in the first game, and senior Jason Ortwerth followed suit in the second contest.

WUSTL defeated MacMurray College, 14-3, on March 31 in Jacksonville, Ill. Junior Ryan Corning and senior Dan Rieck highlighted the offensive outburst, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs and one home run apiece.

On April 2, WUSTL defeated Knox College, 12-4 and 15-2, at home, and on April 3 it knocked off Knox, 8-7 and 4-0, to run its winning streak to eight games.

Corning batted .600 (15 for 25) for the week with nine RBIs, while Ortwerth pitched two shutouts to improve to 4-0.

Softball team rolls, posts 6-0 week

The No. 2 softball team went 6-0 last week to improve to 27-1 overall.

The Bears opened the week by sweeping Maryville University, 7-0 and 5-2, on March 31 at WUSTL Field. In Game 1, sophomore Laurel Sagartz struck out nine and allowed just one hit to pick up her ninth victory of the season.

Bears junior Monica Hanono is congratulated by her teammates after hitting a home run against Millikin April 2. WUSTL is now 27-1 and ranked No. 2 in Division III.
Bears junior Monica Hanono is congratulated by her teammates after hitting a home run against Millikin April 2. WUSTL is now 27-1 and ranked No. 2 in Division III.

The Bears followed that up with two 8-0 victories over MacMurray College on April 2. Sagartz struck out 14 of 15 batters in Game 1 and allowed just one Highlander hit. Sophomore Abby Morgan and freshman Kaylyn Eash held MacMurray to just three hits in Game 2.

Junior Monica Hanono went 3 for 5 with a home run and seven RBIs to lead the Bears to a sweep of Millikin University on April 3. The Bears won Game 1, 8-0, in six innings and then posted a 6-0 win in Game 2. The shutout for the Bears was the fourth straight, and fifth in the last six games. Sagartz improved to 12-1, going six innings and allowing three hits and striking out 10.

Women’s track & field takes 1st in invitational

The men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams starred at the WUSTL Invitational.

The women won the 20-team event with 141 points, far ahead of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s 83 points.

The Bears men took eighth place out of 24 teams.

On the women’s side WUSTL won four individual events.

Freshman Tiffany Barbour took first place in the javelin, recording a throw of 34.48 meters (113-1); junior Michelle McCully won the 400-meter run (58.77).

However, senior Maggie Grabow provided the highlight of the day for the women, winning the 10,000. She clocked a 36:03.21, which provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships and came just three seconds shy of automatically qualifying.

Additionally, the 1,600-relay squad of McCully, freshman Danielle Wadlington, junior Laura Ehret and sophomore Natalie Badowski recorded a time of 3:56.51 to win the event.

On the men’s side, senior Lance Moen placed second in the 400 (49.12) with a team season-best time. Sophomore Kevin Gale took second in the 3,000 steeplechase in 9:26.05, while junior Brennan Bonner took third in 9:28.12.

Women’s tennis team splits two matches

The women’s tennis team split its two matches last week at home.

The Bears swept McKendree College, 9-0, on March 31, winning all six singles matches in straight sets. Senior Kacie Cook (No. 2), senior Sara Kabakoff (No. 3) and freshman Amy Hsieh (No. 5) each won by the same 6-0, 6-0 score.

On April 2, WUSTL lost, 5-4, to No. 12 Rhodes College. Cook and Kabakoff each picked up wins in singles again, but it was not enough. Sophomore Erin Fleming picked up the only other singles win as the teams split the six matches. Rhodes took two of three in doubles to secure the win.

Kabakoff is a team-best 14-4 this season in singles play.

Men’s tennis wins all four matches

The No. 13 men’s tennis team improved to 8-2 overall by winning four matches last week.

The Bears posted a 3-0 record at the Jack Schwartz Invitational April 1-2 at Wheaton College.

The Bears upset No. 11 Carthage College, 4-3, in the opening match of the tournament on April 1. The Bears split the six singles matches, but won all three doubles matches against the Redmen.

WUSTL followed that with a 7-0 win against Illinois Wesleyan on April 1 and then capped off a perfect tournament by defeating Wheaton, 5-2, on April 2.

The Bears, who had just played one home match all season, began a string of four straight home tilts with a 5-2 win over University Athletic Association rival University of Chicago on April 3.