FAMILIAR FOES: The Seattle University baseball team enters a week in which it will face schools the Redhawks have seen earlier in the season. Tuesday, SeattleU heads to Wenatchee to face Washington State in a neutral-site game dubbed the "Cross State Showdown". The Cougars took two games from the Redhawks in Pullman to start the 2010 season. SeattleU then returns to Bannerwood Park for a weekend series against the University of Nevada. The Wolf Pack swept a weekend series from the Redhawks just two weeks ago, but the conditions will be much different than those encountered by the two teams in Reno on Easter weekend. The series against Nevada begins a 15-game stretch in which SeattleU will not leave the Seattle/Bellevue area for a game, with the lone road contest in that span coming at the University of Washington on May 4.
LOOKING BACK: Seattle University went 1-2 over the past week in home games against some of the best non-Division I teams in the Northwest. Last Tuesday, SeattleU loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth inning, but could not bring a run across the plate as British Columbia held on for a 2-1 victory. Arlo Evasick pitched 7 2/3 innings of solid baseball, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning and giving up only five hits and one walk while striking out five batters. Max Whieldon made another important relief appearance, allowing only a walk in 1 1/3 innings of work. Nate Roberts went 3-for-4 during the game, the only SeattleU batter to earn multiple hits against the Thunderbirds. Thursday, Pacific Lutheran struck for six runs in the seventh inning on its way to a 6-0 victory. Whieldon took the loss despite giving up just five hits, one walk, and one run in 6 2/3 innings of work in his first start of the season. Riley Tompkins went 1-for-2 with two walks, while Doug Buser drew three walks during the game. The Redhawks finally broke through for their first home victory of the season last Friday, defeating Concordia, 8-1. Brandon Kizer pitched seven innings, giving up only four hits and one unearned run while striking out a season-high seven batters. He walked the second batter he faced, but thanks to a double play faced the minimum 15 batters over the first five innings before Concordia led off the sixth inning with back-to-back singles. Bryndon Ecklund hit a grand slam home run for the Redhawks as they snapped an 11-game losing streak.
TUESDAY'S MATCHUP: Seattle University will be designated as the visiting team, while Washington State has been designated the home team for Tuesday's game in Wenatchee. SeattleU will start righthander Arlo Evasick, who comes in with a 1-6 record and a 7.17 earned run average. Evasick last pitched on April 6 against British Columbia, giving up five hits, one walk, and two runs while striking out five batters in 7 2/3 innings. Evasick faced the Cougars in the season opener on Feb. 20, allowing seven hits and eight runs, seven of them earned, in 3 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. Washington State counters with lefthander Bret DeRooy, who has made two starts this season but pitched only five innings in those appearances and currently has a 14.40 earned run average. DeRooy last pitched on March 27 against Cal State Bakersfield, giving up eight hits and seven runs in 1 1/3 innings of work. He made his collegiate debut March 17 against Dallas Baptist, giving up four hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings of work.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars come into Tuesday's game with a 17-11 overall record after winning two of three games from Arizona State over the weekend. As a team, Washington State has posted a .302 batting average, a 4.35 earned run average, and a .966 fielding percentage with 37 errors in 28 games. Brett Jacobs leads the Cougars with a .400 batting average, while Matt Argyropoulos is batting .340 and is leading the squad with 32 hits, nine doubles, and 23 runs batted in. Garry Kuykendall has stolen 10 bases, and Derek Jones has hit a team-high five home runs. On the mound, Chad Arnold, Spencer Jackson, and Adam Conley all hold 3-1 records, with Arnold leading the way with 51 1/3 innings pitched and 39 strikeouts. Conley also has six saves and has struck out 23 opposing batters in 24 innings of work.
OPENING WEEKEND: Washington State hosted Seattle University on the opening weekend of the 2010 season, winning both games at Bailey-Brayton Field. Saturday, Feb. 20, SeattleU played its first intercollegiate game in 24 years and actually took a 1-0 lead when Riley Tompkins scored the first run of the game. The Cougars took the lead for good in the bottom of the second inning with five runs. Washington State would go on to an 11-6 victory. Tompkins, Steve Kirbach. and Mike Malland each finished with two hits to lead the SeattleU offense. Arlo Evasick earned the start, pitching 3 2/3 innings and giving up seven hits and eight runs. Brandon Kizer gave up three hits and three runs in three innings of relief, while Max Whieldon allowed only one hit in 1 1/3 inning of relief. The next day, nothing went right for the Redhawks, as Washington State posted a 23-0 victory. The lone bright spot for Seattle University was the play of Nate Roberts, who finished 3-for-4 at the plate including a double.
SCOUTING NEVADA: The Wolf Pack are 16-13-1 heading into a game Tuesday against Saint Mary's. Nevada went 1-2-1 in its WAC series at New Mexico State last weekend. As a team, Nevada has accumulated a .309 batting average, a 6.12 earned run average, and a .963 fielding percentage with 41 errors in 30 games. Brock Stassi is batting .400 with a .747 slugging percentage and a .517 on-base percentage thanks to eight doubles, five triples, five home runs, and 16 walks. Shaun Kort is batting .374 with 30 runs scored, 15 doubles, four home runs, 33 runs batted in, and 23 walks. Brian Barnett leads the team with seven home runs and 34 runs batted in, and Westley Moss is the team leader with 43 hits and 14 stolen bases. Besides his hitting exploits, Stassi is also 4-3 with a 3.38 earned run average and 33 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.
EASTER WEEKEND: Seattle University had its chances, especially in two of the three games, but Nevada was able to pull off the weekend sweep April 2-3. The game scheduled for April 1 was postponed due to snow, forcing the two teams to play a doubleheader Friday afternoon. In Friday's first game, Nevada jumped out to a 9-0 lead thanks in part to three home runs. SeattleU came back, taking advantage of a strong tailwind towards left field with home runs by Josh Kutz, Doug Buser, and Riley Tompkins. After another Wolf Pack home run gave Nevada a 12-5 lead, the Redhawks fought back again, as Sean Narby drove in five runs to bring SeattleU within two at 12-10, but that would be as close as the visitors would get. Nevada's offense kept going in the second game, taking an 8-0 lead before SeattleU put a run on the board. There would be no comeback, as the Wolf Pack cruised to a 17-3 victory. In Saturday's series finale, after Nevada scored the first two runs of the game, SeattleU came back, with a two-run double by Buser pulling the Redhawks ahead, 4-2. Nevada would tie the game in the sixth inning and then earn the victory with a single in the bottom of the ninth.
WEATHER FORECAST: According to The Weather Channel, Tuesday's weather in Wenatchee is expected to be partly cloudy with temperatures in the low-to-mid 50s with winds WNW at 12 mph. Over the weekend in Bellevue, Friday night will be partly cloudy with temperatures in the 50s, while there will be a mix of sun and clouds on both Saturday and Sunday with highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
BROADCASTING LIVE: Dan Giuliani will broadcast all home games and selected road contests on GoSeattleU.com, with a pregame show commencing about 15-20 minutes before the scheduled first pitch. SeattleU director of baseball operations Drew Samuelson will join Giuliani on most broadcasts. Giuliani will be broadcasting live from Wenatchee for Tuesday's game against Washington State as well as from Bannerwood Park for all three contests against Nevada.