Preparing for its second season of competition after the re-establishment of the program, the Seattle University baseball team has kept a quick pace of practice and events to fill its fall season.
During the weekend of Sept. 17-19, the team embarked on a weekend without cell phones to Bremerton for team bonding as well as practice. The coaching staff used the time away from campus, the final weekend before the start of classes, to instill within the team some of the traits they hope will carry over into the spring.
After two more weeks of practice, the Scarlet and Black World Series began Friday, Oct. 8, at Garfield High School, Here is the recap of the game from assistant coach Casey Powell:
The Black Team rode the strong pitching of Seafth Howe to take a 1-0 lead in the 2010 Scarlet and Black World Series with a 10-1 victory. Howe threw a solid five innings, walking two, striking out five and only giving up one earned run. Blaine Jones, the starter for the Scarlet Team, got off to a shaky start, walking the first two batters of the game who both eventually scored without the Black Team even getting a hit in the opening frame.
The Scarlet Team answered back in the second inning. After a Steve Kirbach fly out, Nick Latta worked a one-out walk and Doug Kincaid stroked an RBI triple over the head of Cam Christian in right field. Howe walked Tyler Sustare to put runners on the corners but then struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam.
The third inning went scoreless, with both starting pitchers working quick three-up, three-down half of their innings. Howe again worked another quick fourth inning before his offense opened up for an explosive four-run fourth and four-run fifth inning. Michael Tevlin went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI in those two innings alone. Tevlin finished with three RBI on the day, while Bryndon Ecklund, Christian and Josh Kalalau each had two RBI themselves.
The second game, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9, was rained out, but that did not stop the baseball team from welcoming back one of their most important teammates. as Adrian Smith visited with the players and coaches. Adrian is a four-year-old boy battling an inoperable tumor who was "adopted" by the Seattle U baseball program through a partnership with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which helps place athletic teams with young people who are specifically dealing with brain tumors.
Adrian and his family gathered with the Seattle U baseball family at Championship Field. Photos from Adrian Day as well as the team camping trip can be seen in the accompanying photo album.
The team hopes to complete the Scarlet and Black World Series Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15 and 16, with Friday's game scheduled for Garfield High School.