Baseball | 4/23/2021 10:13:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (April 23, 2021) - The Buena Vista University baseball team will step out of conference play this weekend to host top-ranked Washington University-St. Louis for a three-game weekend series beginning on Saturday afternoon.

THE MATCH-UP 
Who: No. 1 Washington University-St. Louis (21-1) vs Buena Vista (9-16) 
When: Saturday, April 24, 2021 | 2:00 p.m. (2x9)  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats 
           Sunday, April 25, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. (1x9)  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats 
Where: Storm Lake, Iowa | BVU / SL HS Baseball Field 
 
SERIES HISTORY 
The two programs have met on the diamond eight times prior to entering this weekend with the Bears holding a perfect 8-0 all-time record over the Beavers...Saturday will be the first match-up since 2018 when WashU swept a three-game series in St. Louis...seven of the eight all-time match-ups have come since 1999.

LAST TIME OUT 
The Beavers dropped three of four games at Wartburg College last weekend.  The Beavers picked up a strong 4-1 win in the series opener on Saturday before Wartburg took the final three contests, including a pair of 2-0 shutouts on Sunday.  Sophomore Caden Mathewson had a team-high six hits in the series, including the game-winning three-run triple on Saturday, and hit .429 overall.  Sophomore Jordan Mathewson and junior Logan Mueller had three hits apiece as BVU was held to a .209 team average.
 
ABOUT BUENA VISTA 
Since winning 8-of-10 early in the season, the Beavers have been fighting through a recent stretch where they have dropped 11-of-12 overall.  Caden Mathewson leads the team with a .397 average and is tied with three others for the lead in doubles (7).  His brother, Jordan, leads the team with 34 base hits and is right behind Caden with a .378 average.  He has 11 extra-base hits and leads the way with 51 total bases.  His 17 RBI are second behind only senior Tyler Tennyson's 19.  Tennyson (30 hits) joins both Matheweson's with at least 30 hits on the year.  As a team, the Beavers are hitting .298 with 54 doubles and eight home runs.  The team scored at least five runs in nine of its first 11 games but since then has reached five runs just three times.  The team is 7-5 this season when scoring at least six runs. On the mound, Tennyson has been the team's ace all season with a 2.36 ERA and a 4-2 record in seven appearances (six starts).  He's pitched a team-leading 42 innings and does have three complete games.  He's struck out 33 batters on the year while issuing only seven walks.  Calvin Harris has made nine relief appearances and is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA to go along with a team-leading four saves.  Mason Gehling is second on the staff with 29 innings pitched while making seven starts.  He's 1-3 overall with a 7.45 ERA.  Overall the Beavers' pitching staff has a 6.70 ERA.

 
ABOUT THE BEARS
WashU enters the weekend riding a four-game win streak after suffering its first loss of the season - a 7-1 setback against then fourth-ranked Webster University on April 11.  That loss was only the third time all season that the pitching staff had allowed more than five runs in a contest.  It currently sports a stellar 1.50 ERA.  Ryan Loutos has helped lead the way with a 7-0 record over seven starts and a 0.89 ERA while pitching a team-high 50.2 innings.  He has 70 punchouts and just seven walks allowed.  Jared Fong sports a 0.36 ERA over 25.0 innings and has a team-leading six saves.  Troy Bauer is second on the staff with 32.1 innings and is 3-1 with one save.  As a staff, the Bears have stuck out 254 batters while allowing just 54 base on balls.  Offensively, WashU is hitting just a notch under .300 while averaging over 6.5 runs per contest.  Tim Van Kirk comes in hitting .440 overall with a team-leading 91 at-bats and 40 base hits.  Four of those hits are triples and he's also swiped 16 bases.  Caleb Durbin is second with 29 hits and leads the way with 10 doubles, 24 RBI and 25 runs scored.  
 
UP NEXT 
The Beavers will return to American Rivers Conference play next weekend when it travels to the University of Dubuque for a four-game series on Friday, April 30 and Sunday, May 2.