After Portland pitcher Chris Dennis set down Seattle University in order in the top of the tenth, C.J. Cullen led off with a single through the left side. He moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt and still stood there after Matt Mardesich was hit by a pitch and Kris Kauppila popped up to third base. Craig Smith sent a single to center field, and Cullen was able to come around and score to give the Pilots the victory.
Portland (4-0) scored in the bottom of the second as Kauppila drove in Brian Frattali with a single to center field. SeattleU responded in the top of the third, as Mike Malland (Mukilteo, Wash.) led off with a double to left-center field. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Doug Buser (Orinda, Calif.) and scored when Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) grounded out to second base.
SeattleU received strong pitching performances throughout the game, led by starter Arlo Evasick (Chimacum, Wash.), who gave up just six hits and one unearned run in 6 1/3 innings of work. Blaine Jones (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) pitched an inning of relief and, after hitting two batters to load the bases, forced a popout to Hendrickson to end the seventh inning.
Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) came on in relief in the bottom of the eighth inning with two runners on and one out, stranding those runners with two flyouts to Buser. In the ninth inning, a single and two walks loaded the bases with two outs, but Dalton struck out Kyle Haskin to leave the runners on base and force extra innings. Unfortunately, Dalton (0-1) took the loss after giving up the run in the tenth inning.
The Redhawks struggled offensively, collecting only four hits during the game. SeattleU did earn two hits in the top of the second inning, singles by Riley Tompkins (Lynnwood, Wash.) and Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.), but the team could not take advantage of that opportunity. In the top of the ninth, Buser walked and advanced to second on a Hendrickson sacrifice bunt, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the rally.
Pilot starting pitcher Zach Varce went eight innings, striking out 14 Redhawk batters and setting down the final 18 batters he faced in a row. Dennis (1-0) picked up the victory after pitching two innings of hitless relief, striking out the final five batters he saw consecutively.
Seattle University (0-4) will look to break through into the win column as it will face Portland in a doubleheader Sunday, Feb. 28, with the first pitch of the first game scheduled for 11 a.m. Live stats and audio are set to be available through the Portland athletics website (www.portlandpilots.com).