With Seattle U relief pitcher Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) starting his third inning of work, Chris Benson drew a walk, and Goose Kallunki followed with a double to right-center field, scoring Benson as he was running on the pitch in an apparent hit-and-run situation. With two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning, Josh Kalalau (University Place, Wash.) singled to center field and Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) was hit by a pitch, but pinch hitter Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.) struck out to end the game.
The Redhawks jumped on the board in the second inning as Kalalau singled up the middle and Roberts walked. Josh Kutz (Seattle, Wash.) laid down a sacrifice bunt, reaching base when Utah Valley pitcher Zane Gray bobbled the ball. After a strikeout, Nick Latta (Tacoma, Wash.) sent a fly ball to right field, scoring Kalalau. However, the throw from Billy Burgess that appeared to be sailing wide hit Kalalau as he slid into home, keeping the ball close to catcher Kevin Arendse, whose throw to second base caught Roberts too far off the bag, ending the scoring threat.
Max Whieldon (Trabuco Hills, Calif.) retired the first nine batters he faced and faced the minimum number of batters through the first five innings. After stranding two runners on base in the sixth, Utah Valley finally broke through in the seventh inning when Jace Brinkerhoff led off with a single, advanced to second on a single by Benson, and scored on a single by Kallunki. Whieldon would set down the Wolverines in order in the eighth and ninth innings before departing the game after throwing 103 pitches, 73 of them for strikes.
Gray settled down after giving up the run in the second inning, allowing only three hits and two walks in 8 2/3 innings of work, striking out six Redhawk batters. After retiring 14 straight hitters, he was helped by double plays in both the seventh and eighth innings. Brian Whatcott pitched the next 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and eventually earning his second victory of the season, while Craig Brimhall earned the save by holding Seattle U scoreless in the 12th inning.
Kalalau went 2-for-5 to lead the Redhawks, while Jake Rickenbach led all players with a 3-for-5 performance for the Wolverines. Kallunki finished the game 2-for-5 with both Utah Valley RBIs as the visiting team outhit the home team, 9-5, in earning a split of the two-game series.
Seattle University (8-34) flies to Omaha, Neb., Thursday for a three-game series against Creighton University over the weekend. The Friday night game will take place at historic Rosenblatt Stadium and begin at 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. PDT), while the Saturday (2 p.m. CDT) and Sunday (12 p.m. CDT) contests will be held at the CU Sports Complex.