HOME COOKING: After splitting the first four games of the season, Seattle University opens its home schedule with a three-game series against Notre Dame. The first game was originally scheduled for Friday night at Everett Memorial Stadium, but weather conditions forced a schedule change. The teams will now play a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday, with all three games taking place at Bannerwood Park. Live stats will be available on GoSeattleU.com, and live audio broadcasts will also be on the website, with Dan Giuliani providing the play-by-play descriptions.
THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHUPS
Saturday, February 26 - 12:00 p.m. start (Game One):
Seattle U: #55 RHP Max Whieldon - 0-1, 2.70 ERA, 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
Notre Dame: #6 RHP Brian Dupra - 0-1, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Saturday, February 26 - TBA (Game Two):
Seattle U: #23 RHP Brandon Kizer - 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
Notre Dame: #37 RHP Cole Johnson - 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO
Sunday, February 27 - 12:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: #30 RHP Seafth Howe - 0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
Notre Dame: #19 RHP Todd Miller - 1-0, 4.26 ERA, 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE SERIES: Seattle University opened the 2011 season with a trip to Northridge, Calif., to face the Matadors. Friday's series-opener was a pitcher's duel, as Seattle U starter Max Whieldon allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings of work. However, Seattle U was held to just five hits during the game as the Matadors pulled out a 2-0 victory. The first game of Saturday's doubleheader was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning. Senior Josh Kalalau hit a grand slam over the left field fence for the Redhawks' first runs of the season, and Nick Latta followed with a three-run home run, also over the left field fence, to give Seattle U a 7-0 lead. The Redhawks scored two more runs in the seventh inning, and Brandon Kizer pitched six innings of two-hit ball as Seattle U earned its first win of the season, 9-0. Cal State Northridge recovered in the second game of Saturday's twinbill, scoring five runs in the first inning and three runs in the fourth inning in a 10-3 victory. Matt Comer was a bright spot for Seattle U, hitting his first home run of the season. Sunday afternoon, Seattle U fell behind 2-0 before Kalalau hit a two-run home run in the third inning to pull the Redhawks into a 2-2 tie. The Matadors retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth, but Comer drove in Trent Oleszczuk in the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3. In the seventh inning, Michael Tevlin's single scored Oleszczuk to give Seattle U a 4-3 advantage. Conor Spink pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory, and Blaine Jones induced a game-ending double play in the ninth inning to earn his first career save. Oleszczuk led the team over the weekend, going 7-for-15 with a double and four runs scored, while Latta went 6-for-14 with four runs batted in.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME: The Fighting Irish come into the weekend with a 2-1 record, losing to Michigan State (2-1) before defeating Purdue (19-2) and Penn State (8-5) in the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge in Florida. Joe Hudson finished the weekend 6-for-13 with three doubles and four runs scored. Herman Petzold drove in five runs during the weekend, while Trey Mancini hit the only home run in the three games Notre Dame played. As a team, the Irish hit .357 with a .478 slugging percentage and a .419 on-base percentage. The pitching staff combined for a 2.33 earned run average with 24 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Notre Dame committed four errors in the three games to post a .965 fielding percentage over the weekend. The Fighting Irish is coming off a 22-32 season in 2010, including a 10-17 record in BIG EAST play.
SERIES HISTORY: These will be the first meetings ever between Seattle University and Notre Dame.
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. Seattle U director of baseball operations Drew Samuelson will join Giuliani on most broadcasts. Giuliani will begin his broadcasts with the weekend series against Notre Dame Feb. 26-27.
SENIORITY: Even though he is only in his second season as head coach of Seattle University, Donny Harrel will have the longevity edge over his counterpart for the second straight weekend. Last weekend, Cal State Northridge head coach Matt Curtis started his head coaching career after serving as an assistant at Fresno State for ten years. This weekend, Harrel faces first-year Notre Dame head coach Mik Aoki. However, Aoki does have plenty of head coaching experience, having served at the helm of the programs at Columbia University (1999-2003) and Boston College (2007-2010).
WEATHER FORECAST: As of Wednesday, Feb. 23, Saturday looks like the best day of the weekend weather-wise. The forecast for Saturday's doubleheader is for partly sunny skies with temperatures reaching 40 degrees. There is a 40 percent chance of precipitation Sunday, with highs reaching the mid-40s.
MAKING IMPROVEMENTS: The roster of the Seattle University baseball program is not the only thing being improved for 2011. Thanks to generous donors and volunteers, as well as the work of the coaches and players, improvements have been made to several areas within Bannerwood Park. Work has been done on the bullpens, the dugouts, and the pitching mound to make the facility worthy of Division I baseball. Seattle University has received the cooperation of the city of Bellevue to make these projects possible. A photo album detaling some of the improvements accompanies these notes online.
THE SCHEDULE: Seattle University is currently scheduled to play 56 games in the 2011 season, 32 at home and 24 on the road. Besides this weekend's series with Notre Dame, Seattle U will welcome Portland, San Jose State, Sacramento State, New Mexico State, Oregon, and Pacific to Bannerwood Park for multi-game series. The Redhawks will travel to face Oregon State, Portland, Nevada, Dallas Baptist, BYU, and Saint Mary's for multi-game series. Seattle U and the University of Washington will renew the crosstown rivalry with four games during the season, two games at each team's home fields. The first of those will take place at Husky Ballpark March 8, with the other three on consecutive Tuesdays (April 5, 12, and 19).