Game one | Game two | Season stats

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The baseball Bearcats earned their first win of 2010 in a pitching duel with the Washburn Ichabods. The Bearcats won the first game in a doubleheader, 1-0, as Jared Berman struck out five batters en route to his first win in an SBU uniform. Berman, Wes Burrell, and Josh Brock combined for a two-hitter against Washburn in the seven inning game.

SBU was ahead 3-0 early in the second game, but a big fourth inning from the Ichabods gave the lead to Washburn who never looked back and won by a final of 15-5.

Berman (1-0) looked to be in mid-season form on the hill during game one, as he didn't allow a single Washburn runner to get into scoring position until there were two outs in the third inning. Berman rang up five out of six batters in the second and third innings, and allowed only one hit in his 4 and 1/3 innings pitched. After Burrell took over in the fifth inning and got the Bearcats out of a jam, Brock came in in the sixth inning and shut the door over the final two frames, allowing just one hit and one walk to earn the save.

Justin Crumpley led the bottom of the second off with a walk, and then after advancing on a walk by shortstop Victor Ramirez and a sacrifice bunt from Nigel Morton, would come in to score the game's only run when centerfielder Niko Saladis got aboard with an infield hit.

In the later game, designated hitter Kyle Wise would score a pair of runs in the second and third innings, thanks to base hits from Ramirez and Taylor Trotter, as the Bearcats would take a 3-0 lead after three innings. Mike Nicks would hold Washburn through the first three innings, before the Ichabods would break through in the fourth with five runs and pull away throughout the later innings.

With the split, the Bearcats are now 1-9 overall, and have earned a 1-3 mark in the MIAA. Washburn takes the four-game series against SBU, three games to one, and move to 3-1 both overall and in conference play. The Bearcats continue with the current homestand when they host Missouri S&T this Tuesday, March 2. The single, nine-inning game is scheduled for 2:00 pm.