SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- It was a tough day at the ballpark for the Washburn baseball team on Saturday as Cal State San Bernardino won both games of the doubleheader by the score of 6-5 and in walkoff fashion. The Ichabods are now 1-2 to start the season and will wrap up the series tomorrow at 11 a.m. central time.
Game One: CSUSB 6, WU 5
Mitchell Lady picked up Washburn's first hit of the game with a single in the top of the third and promptly stole second base to get in scoring position. Up next was
Xavier De Leon, who worked an eight pitch at bat and sent a 3-2 pitch to left center for a double to score Lady and give Washburn a 1-0 lead.
The Coyotes took their first lead of the series with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth. CSUSB added one more run in the sixth with a bases loaded single after three-straight walks. The Ichabods mitigated the damage, though, as they were able to get the lead runner out at home on a fielder's choice followed by a strike out and a pop out.
Trailing 5-1 heading into the top of the seventh,
Tyler Clark-Chiapparelli led off the inning with a hit by pitch to reach first base. Next up,
Steven Jacobson squared up on the first pitch of the at bat for a double to right center and advanced to third while Clark-Chiapparelli to scored. Washburn kept the line moving as Jacobson easily scored on
Zion Bowlin's triple and then Lady was able to knock in Bowlin with a single up the middle to get the Ichabods within one, 5-4.
The Coyotes made some noise in the bottom of the eighth, starting off the inning with a walk and then a single. A fly ball to center field allowed their runner to advance to third with one out.
Trevor Marreel came on in relief and walked the first batter to load the bases, but locked down and struck out the next batter and made the third out on a fly out.
Down to their last three outs, Bowlin got things going in the top of the ninth with a single.
Carson Sader entered the game as a pinch runner and advanced to second and then third after a ground out and fly out. With two outs and a runner on third,
Mark Wanner came in to pinch hit and singled through the left side on a 1-0 pitch to score Sader and tie up the game.
The Ichabods' hopes of a comeback quickly vanished in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a four pitch walk to lead off the inning. The Coyote runner advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a passed ball, and then gave CSUSB the walk off win after scoring on a Washburn throwing error on a hit ground ball.
Game Two (7 innings): CSUSB 6, WU 5
The Ichabod pitching staff struggled with command in the second game as they put on 10 Coyote baserunners during the seven inning game. Cal State San Bernardino took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second after capitalizing on two-straight walks. The Ichabods quickly evened the score in the next half inning when
Eric Hinostroza singled up the middle to score Lady from third.
Washburn broke the tie game in the fifth with three runs.
Kros Bay led off the inning and advanced to second on a fielding error by the Coyotes' left fielder. Lady's bunt sent Bay to third and then he reached home on De Leon's sacrifice fly. Next up, Hinostroza picked up his third hit of the night on a single through the right side.
Parker Dunn followed that with a dinger to right field, his second homerun in as many days.
The Coyotes cut the Washburn lead in half, 4-2, in the bottom half of the fifth with one run on no hits with two walks and two hit by pitches.
Clark-Chiapparelli led off the sixth with a single and then used his speed to steal second and then score on another single by Bay. Lady singled through the left side and De Leon worked a walk to load the bases, but Washburn was unable to bring any more runs home as the inning ended on a groundout.
Nick Steiner came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth and sent the Coyotes down 1-2-3. Trailing 5-2 and down to their final three outs, the Coyotes got two quick baserunners to start the bottom of the ninth on walks. The next batter singled, but Washburn's defense was able to catch the lead runners in a double play. The next two batters walked to load the bases with two outs and a Coyote pinch hitter sent the second pitch he saw over the center field wall to win the game, 6-5.
