ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A marathon 15-inning game to start the day ultimately went against the University of Chicago baseball team and Washington University-St. Louis also won the nightcap on Saturday to sweep the doubleheader.

The Maroons dropped to 10-10 on the season. The Bears improved to 22-12.

Game One – WashU 6, UChicago 5

For the second-straight game, UChicago baseball team played into extra innings. Tied through nine innings, the two teams stayed locked at 5-5 through the top of the 15th. However, in the bottom half of that frame, the home team walked off with the win on a fielder's choice.

The visitors tallied 13 hits with multiple batters in the lineup receiving eight plate appearances over the 15 innings. Freshman outfielder Josh Parks had three hits while senior third baseman Tim Sonnefeldt, junior designated hitter Nicholas Toomey and sophomore outfielder Max Larsen all added two base knocks.

The Bears jumped ahead 3-0 in their half of the fourth, and UChicago got two runs back in the top of the fifth. Parks singled to start things off, then Sonnefeldt did the same to put men at first and second. Freshman second baseman Max Brzostowski bunted both Maroons over 90 feet to put two men in scoring position. Then freshman outfielder Connor Hickey also did his job as a situational hitter with a ground ball to second base that scored Parks and moved Sonnefeldt over to third. Sophomore first baseman Michael Davis then singled through the left side of the infield to pull the Maroons within a run at 3-2.

The teams matched each other with a run in the sixth and a run in eighth apiece as UChicago went into the ninth down 5-4. However, the Maroons weren't ready for the game to be over quite yet. Brzostowski walked to lead off the inning and then stole second with one out. After a wild pitch, the Maroons had a man at third. The Bears elected to walk Davis to set up the double play, but another wild pitch allowed Brzostowski to score, extending the game. The two teams remained tied at five until the bottom of the 15th when the Bears scored to walk off on a bases-loaded fielder's choice.

The Maroons used six different pitchers over the long haul. Freshman Joe Liberman started the game by throwing four innings of three-run, seven-hit, two-walk, five-strikeout baseball. He then handed the game off to fellow freshman Ravi Bakhai, who went three-and-a-third with two runs, four hits and three strikeouts. Sophomore Chase Packard, freshman Isaac Johnston and junior Thomas Prescott split the next 3.2 innings and posted scoreless frames. Freshman Alex McGimpsey (1-1 record) pitched the game's final three-and-a-third innings, allowing one unearned run, four hits and one walk while striking out three.

Game Two – WashU 11, UChicago 1

With momentum on its side from the first game, the Bears ramped up the offense and defeated the Maroons in seven innings in game two. The big breakout occurred in the bottom of the fourth when WashU scored seven times to put the game out of reach.

UChicago's lone run came in the top of the fourth. Sophomore designated hitter Matt Slodzinski singled to center field with two outs and scored two batters later on a RBI single from senior catcher Kevin Tully.

The Maroons tallied five hits and made one error defensively. Slodzinski was 2-for-3 in the game.

Freshman pitcher Brenton Villasenor (1-4 record) took the loss in three innings. His pitching line included five runs, five hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Three relievers threw one inning each, including senior Nick Watson (1 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K); senior Alex Athenson (1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 BB); and sophomore Robert Fuentes (1 IP).

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, April 17 – UChicago at Washington University-St. Louis, Noon