Down 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, Bryndon Ecklund (Elma, Wash.) was hit on the hip by a pitch from Saint Mary's closer Alex Schmarzo. Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) sent a single into center field, and Kalalau followed with a fly ball that landed just over the fence in left field. It was the junior's fourth home run of the weekend and his second two-home run game of the series.
Saint Mary's had taken the lead in the top of the seventh on a two-run home run by Troy Channing off Seattle U starting pitcher Arlo Evasick (Port Ludlow, Wash.). After a single by Patrick Wisdom, Conor Spink (Eagle River, Alaska) came on in relief, walked the first batter he saw, but induced an inning-ending double play and eventually earned the victory after Kalalau's heroics.
The Gaels scored first in the third inning when Justin Fazio hit a solo home run to center field. In the sixth inning, Chris Murphy missed a pitch for strike three, but a passed ball allowed him to reach first base. He would advance to third on a double by Fazio and scored on a wild pitch to give Saint Mary's a 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kalalau led off with a home run to left field. Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) followed with a single to left-center field and hustled around the bases to score on a double by Josh Kutz (Seattle, Wash.). Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.) singled to left field to put runners on first and third with one out, but Schmarzo came on and picked up a strikeout and a flyout to end the scoring threat.
Evasick pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing 11 hits, one walk, and four runs, three of them earned. He struck out 10 Gael batters, the most strikeouts by a Seattle University pitcher in a single game this season, finishing the year with a team-high 60 strikeouts. Saint Mary's starter Martin Agosta allowed eight hits, two walks, and two runs in 5 1/3 innings of work with four strikeouts.
Besides Kalalau, Hendrickson and Nick Latta (Tacoma, Wash.) also earned two hits apiece in the first game of the doubleheader. Donald Collins led the Gaels with a 3-for-4 performance, while Markus Melgosa went 2-for-2 with a run scored and Fazio finished the first game 2-for-3 with a run scored and a run batted in.
Saint Mary's (18-30-1) cruised to a 13-1 victory in the second game of the twinbill to split the doubleheader and the weekend series. The Gaels pounded out 23 hits against six different Redhawk pitchers, with six different players earning three hits each during the contest.
Channing hit his third home run of the weekend and second of the day in the first inning, but Seattle U responded when Ecklund reached base and advanced to second on a throwing error by Channing and scored on a single up the middle by Hendrickson. A single by Collins in the second inning drove in Shawn O'Brien, and Saint Mary's never gave up the lead after that.
A two-run triple by O'Brien was part of a three-run third inning that started to break the game open, Chris Murphy hit a leadoff home run in the fifth inning to increase the Gael lead to 7-1, and five singles led in part to four runs in the sixth inning. Eric Yardley (Richland, Wash.), making his first start of the season, took the loss after giving up seven hits and two runs in 2 1/3 innings. Every Seattle U pitcher that appeared in game two gave up at least one run except for Skip Spencer (Springfield, Ore.), who set down all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
In the final collegiate baseball game of his career, senior Doug Buser (Orinda, Calif.) went 2-for-4 to finish the season with a .296 batting average and team highs with 59 hits, eight doubles, two triples, six sacrifice bunts, 14 stolen bases, and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 177 putouts and one assist. When he was replaced in the top of the ninth inning, he received a rousing ovation from the crowd in recognition of his leadership as the only senior on the squad.
Seattle University finished the 2010 season with an 11-39 record, including victories over Saint Mary's, BYU, Dallas Baptist, and Utah Valley at home and road wins at Portland, at Pacific, at Oregon, and against Creighton in historic Rosenblatt Stadium. With Buser the only player lost to graduation, head coach Donny Harrel will have an experienced group of Redhawks back for the 2011 campaign.