Seattle University Baseball
Tuesday, March 23 - Washington at SeattleU - 6 p.m. (Live stats and live audio on GoSeattleU.com)
Thursday, March 25 - Pacific Lutheran at SeattleU - 4 p.m. (Live stats and live audio on GoSeattleU.com)
Monday, March 29 - SeattleU at Washington - 5 p.m.
A LOCAL FLAVOR: Nobody will have a long way to go for the next three games involving the Seattle University baseball team. In fact, for Tuesday's game between the Redhawks and the Washington Huskies, each team will have about the same distance (10 miles) to travel to Bannerwood Park for the renewal of the crosstown rivalry. Thursday, the Lutes of Pacific Lutheran make the trip north from Tacoma for a single game. Next Monday, SeattleU and Washington meet again, this time at Husky Ballpark, actually a shorter drive for the Redhawks than the one for their home games in Bellevue. All three teams were involved in series sweeps this past weekend, with SeattleU and Washington being swept and Pacific Lutheran doing the sweeping.
THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE SERIES: Seattle University had its chances over the weekend, but the Matadors of Cal State Northridge used their power, especially on Saturday and Sunday, for a four-game sweep at Bannerwood Park March 19-21. Friday night, SeattleU came back from a 4-1 deficit, with a sacrifice fly by Nate Roberts in the seventh inning scoring Nick Latta to tie the game at 4-4. The Redhawks had a chance to win in the game in the bottom of the 11th, as singles by Latta and Roberts put runners on first and third, but a lineout ended the inning and kept the game going. Finally, the Matadors scored in the top of the 13th and held on for the 5-4 victory. Saturday, Cal State Northridge swept a doubleheader, 10-5 and 6-4, thanks in part to five home runs during the afternoon. Riley Tompkins drove in the first three runs for SeattleU in the second game to give the home team a 3-1 lead, but the Matadors came back, with a two-run home run by Dominic D'Anna in the eighth inning giving the visitors the lead for good. Three more home runs by Cal State Northridge on Sunday, including a grand slam from Ryan Pineda, helped the Matadors open a big lead on their way to an 18-8 victory.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON: The Huskies come into Tuesday's game with a 7-10 record after being swept by Cal State Fullerton at Husky Ballpark last weekend. As a team, Washington has a .293 batting average, a 7.27 earned run average, and a .959 fielding percentage. Jacob Lamb leads the team with a .393 batting average along with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. Caleb Brown is batting .383 with a team-high 23 hits and14 runs scored along with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, and nine RBI. Pierce Rankin leads the Huskies with 15 runs batted in and 10 doubles, half of his 20 hits. Seven different pitchers have started at least one game for Washington, with Adrian Gomez notching the lowest earned run average among the Husky hurlers at 4.00. Andrew Kittredge is 3-2 with a 6.89 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings, but with weekend series on the horizon after each SeattleU game, he is not expected to see any action. Adam Cimber has been the team's closer, going 1-1 with four saves in nine appearances.
SERIES HISTORY: Seattle University and Washington have met 105 times on the baseball field, with Washington holding a 61-44 series advantage. These two teams have not met since April 16, 1986, a 15-3 Husky victory. Seattle University has not hosted Washington since April 15, 1981, a game Washington won, 11-5. The Huskies have won 16 straight games in the series, with the last SeattleU victory coming on May 9, 1979, by a score of 25-3.
SCOUTING PACIFIC LUTHERAN: The Lutes will enter Thursday's game with a 14-5 overall record after sweeping Pacific University of Oregon over the weekend. As a team, Pacific Lutheran has a .365 batting average, a 4.37 earned run average, and a .962 fielding percentage. Sammy Davis leads the team with a .410 batting average, while Dan Johansen has a .395 batting average. Brock Gates leads the Lutes with 23 runs scored, seven home runs, and 26 runs batted in, while Josh Takayoshi is tops on the team with 11 walks and seven stolen bases. Based solely on the stats, Nathan Eisenhauer would seem to be the leading candidate to be the starting pitcher Thursday, posting a 1-1 record with a 5.28 earned run average in 15 1/3 innings. Nic Delikat has made 10 appearances, all out of the bullpen, posting a 1-1 record with two saves and a 0.73 earned run average.
SERIES HISTORY: From 1980 to 1986, SeattleU and Pacific Lutheran met 15 times, with the Lutes winning 11 of those meetings. During SeattleU's final season of baseball before this year, Pacific Lutheran won two of three meetings, including a 6-5 win.
WEATHER FORECAST: According to The Weather Channel, Tuesday night will bring party cloudy skies with temperatures in the mid-50s. Showers are expected for Thursday with temperatures dipping to the high 40s. Showers are also forecast for next Monday with temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s.