"Our bats came to life, with almost our entire lineup getting hits in both games," said head coach Dan Powers. "Sandra (Hernandez) and Jessica (Ulrich) continued with the long ball today. Jessica also got her first collegiate win under her belt with her strong performance on the mound. Kelsey (Reynolds) came in to close the door in game one too. We hope to carry our hot bats into tomorrow's doubleheader."
Leading SeattleU was Theresa Clark (Lakewood, Colo.) who went 4-for-9, with four RBIs and three runs. The Redhawk freshman and senior Katie Petersen (Mission Viejo, Calif.) were the SU leaders at the plate. Petersen went 4-for-9 and had four runs.
In early game, Weber State took off on an immediate 2-0 lead in the top of the first on starting SeattleU pitcher Hannah Klein (Camarillo, Calif.). Two innings later, Clark led off with a single to center field and would be called out two batters later on Petersen's fielder's choice. With a runner on first, Jessica Ulrich (Lewiston, Idaho) evened the score with fourth home run of the season.
The Wildcats continued to battle, as they took over the lead in the bottom half of the inning off a leadoff home run. In a continued back-and-fourth battle, SU's bats came alive in the top of the fourth. With an out, Katie Gould (Medford, Ore.) was walked and advanced on a Clark ground out to second. Senior Katie Antich (Spokane, Wash.) singled to left field and was advanced to second on the throw, which sent home Gould to tie the game for the second time. With Antich on second, Petersen sent her to third with her single to second base. Ulrich followed with a single to center field to take a one run lead. PCSC Player of the Week Sandra Hernandez (Redlands, Calif.) then came to the plate with two runners on base. She slammed her fourth bomb in the past five games. After Hernandez's bases clearing hit, Jessica Amador (Whittier, Calif.) doubled to right center, which led to a Weber State pitching change. Megan MacIsaac (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was the first Redhawk to face the new pitcher and tripled to right field to bring home Amador and close out SU's six run inning.
Down 8-3, the Wildcat offense remained composed. They worked to come back from their four run deficit and reclaim the lead for the third time in the game in the bottom of the fourth. WSU's bats produced four runs to bring them within one run of tying the game for the second time. They did tie the game two innings later with a lone long ball.
Bringing the game to the wire, SU went into the top of the seventh focused and with a motivated offense. MacIsaac led off the inning with her second triple of the game. Kate Zender (Enumclaw, Wash.) then pitch hit for Gould with an out on the board. She singled to left field to score what would be the game-winning run. Two batters later, Antich added a final insurance run with her own triple to center field.
Pitcher Kelsey Reynolds (Kent, Wash.) earned her fifth win of the season after coming in and pitching 3.2 innings. She threw two strikeouts and allowed four hits. Starting pitcher Klein also had a pair of strikeouts in her 3.1 innings of actions.
The Redhawks closed out the day with sound offense and defense, which held the Wildcats off the board for much of the game. Antich led off the game with a double to left center. Petersen, the second batter of the inning, had a single of her own. She then was advanced to second on a throwing error by the Wildcats. With runners on second and third and two outs, Clark doubled to send home Antich and Petersen. MacIsaac followed with a single to left field and was advanced to second, which sent home Clark to add a third run of the inning. Zender scored MacIsaac with her RBI single for SeattleU's fourth and final run of the inning.
Weber State cut the Redhawks lead in half with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, but SeattleU's offense's remained productive the following inning. Clark led off with a double to right center and was advanced to third on a MacIsaac single to shortstop. Zender scored Clark on a single to center field for second RBI of the game.
Three innings later, SU added four runs to their growing lead. With an out and a runner on first, Ulrich doubled to right center to bring home the Redhawk's sixth run of the game. Hernandez kept the inning going with a single to right field. Clark then came to the plate, with Hernandez and Ulrich on bases. She knocked her hit out of the park to bring home both runners.
In the bottom half of the inning, WSU scored their final run of the day, but the SU defense was able to get out of the inning shortly after allowing the Wildcats to score their third run of the game.
In the top of the seventh, the Redhawks scored their 10th and final run of the game off a Hernandez one out RBI single to left field.
SeattleU had 18 hits in the game to WSU's five. They tallied 31 total hits on the day.
Ulrich, who had a solid day at the plate, earned her first career win on the mound in the game. In seven full innings, she threw seven strikeouts. She allowed only five hits in 27 batters faced.
SeattleU will close out the season series on Saturday, Apr. 17, with a final doubleheader. First pitch slated for 11 a.m. PT.