In the first game, Brandon Kizer (Marysville, Wash.) pitched eight shutout innings, allowing only five hits. He was helped by three Seattle U double plays during the game, especially one in the seventh inning that ended a Notre Dame threat after the Fighting Irish put two runners on base with one out.
Trent Oleszczuk (Beaverton, Ore.) earned an infield single with one out in the eighth inning, and Josh Kalalau (University Place, Wash.) followed with a single to left-center field. After Dan Slania replaced Notre Dame starter Cole Johnson, Doug Kincaid (Portland, Ore.) sent a single to right field that scored Oleszczuk to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) came on in the ninth inning and got the first two outs before allowing a walk to Herman Petzold. Dalton recovered and induced a groundout by Eric Jagielo to end the game and earn his first save of the season while giving Kizer his second victory in as many starts.
Notre Dame (3-3) jumped on the board in the first inning of the second game, as Mick Doyle led off with a walk, stole second base and reached third on a throwing error, and scored on a single by Petzold. Petzold would advance to second on a sacrifice bunt and score on a single to left field by Trey Mancini, giving the Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead.
Seattle U struck back in the bottom of the first, as Oleszczuk walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single by Kincaid. The score would remain 2-1 until the sixth inning when Kincaid launched the first home run of his Seattle U career over the right field fence to tie the game at 2-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, Nick Latta (Tacoma, Wash.) reached base when Mancini could not handle a low throw from Greg Sherry, advancing to second when the ball entered the dugout. Pinch hitter Marcelino Morales (Pasco, Wash.) laid down a perfect bunt to reach base and advance Latta to third base. Bryndon Ecklund (Elma, Wash.) would drive in Latta with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Notre Dame reliever Sean Fitzgerald gave up back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Anthony McIver's wild pitch allowed Morales to score. Kalalau's groundout to third base plated Oleszczuk to give the Redhawks a 5-2 lead. Seattle U scored twice in the eighth inning when Morales' single drove in Latta and Ecklund's single brought Morales around to score.
After giving up the two first-inning runs, Seafth Howe (Seattle, Wash.) did not allow another hit, setting down the final 16 batters he faced in order after walking Petzold with two outs in the third inning. Blaine Jones (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) came on in the ninth inning and set down the Fighting Irish in order to complete the doubleheader sweep and give Seattle U its first three-game series victory since coming back as a varsity sport last year.
"Seafth settled down after the first inning and had a good feeling about his game, and Brandon was outstanding. To have two bullets at the back end of games like Bryan and Blaine helps us tremendously. We finally got some timely hitting, but it will be our pitching and defense that carries us this season," head coach Donny Harrel said.
Kincaid finished the doubleheader 3-for-7 with three runs batted in, while Oleszczuk scored three of the four times he reached base during the afternoon. Moving to the ninth spot in the batting order helped Ecklund in the second game, as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Morales went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and a run batted in after coming into the second game as a pinch hitter.
"We have been talking for two years about getting a marquee win, something that announces that we are trying to get back into Division I baseball and be competitive. To beat a top-tier team like Notre Dame, it reflects on the work these guys put in," said Harrel.
Seattle University (4-3) continues its scheduled seven-game homestand Tuesday, March 1, against Pacific Lutheran beginning at 4 p.m. at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue. The Redhawks then welcome the Portland Pilots for a three-game series next weekend, with a single game Friday, March 4, at 4 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday, March 5, at 1 p.m.
"We still have some work to do, as there are some things that showed up this weekend that we have to get better at, especially our situational hitting. Portland is going to come in with some strong pitching, so I expect those games to be close. Our young guys have a boost of confidence, but we need to keep working hard," Harrel said.