A DEFINING TIME: This week Seattle University will face three different opponents, but no one will need to travel too far for the games. The Redhawks make the short trip to Montlake to face the Washington Huskies Tuesday, followed by home games against area schools Saint Martin's (Wednesday) and Pacific Lutheran (Saturday). The Redhawks have won four of their last five games, but they face a string of opponents who won five games against Seattle U last season. To reverse that trend would signal the continuing improvement of the Seattle U baseball program.
THE PORTLAND SERIES: Seattle University matched the University of Portland pitch-for-pitch and ended up winning its second straight three-game series. Seattle U took the early lead in game one Saturday when Nick Latta led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to left field and scored on a single to center field by Michael Tevlin. Portland responded in the top of the fourth, as Beau Fraser led off the inning with a home run off the left field foul pole to tie the game at 1-1. The game remained tied until the 13th inning, when Portland's Matt Mardesich led off with a double to left-center field, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a single by Brian Frattali. Seattle U had a chance in the bottom of the 13th when Sean Narby reached on an error and Matt Comer was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base with one out, but Pilot reliever Keeler Brynteson was able to induce a fly out and a popup to end the game. Portland took the early lead in Saturday's second game with a three-run home run by Ben Grubb, but Seattle U reduced the Pilot lead when Latta his a two-run home run. The Redhawks scored twice in the sixth inning to take the lead, and the bullpen held Portland scoreless to save the game for Seattle U. Sunday, the Redhawks scored twice in the first on a two-run double by Comer. Seattle U added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well as two runs in the seventh to increase the lead to 6-0. The wheels came off for the Portland defense in the eighth inning, as the Pilots committed three errors, a balk, and a passed ball to allow Seattle U to score six runs in the frame with the benefit of only one hit. Junior Seafth Howe allowed four hits and three walks in six innings of work to earn his second victory of the season.
THIS WEEK'S PROBABLE MATCHUPS
Tuesday, March 8 - 5:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: #40 RHP Bryan Dalton - 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
Washington: #24 RHP Jacob Clem - 0-1, 2.76 ERA, 16.1 IP, 17 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 10 SO
Wednesday, March 9 - 4:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: TBA
Saint Martin's: #23 RHP Antone Saltvick - 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO
Saturday, March 12 - 12:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: TBA
Pacific Lutheran: #31 RHP Max Beatty - 2-0, 1.23 ERA, 22.0 IP, 16 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 14 SO
SCOUTING WASHINGTON: The Huskies come into Tuesday's game with a 2-7 record, snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over BYU Saturday at Husky Ballpark. As a team, Washington has a .252 batting average, a .968 fielding percentage, and a 6.75 earned run average. Chase Anselment has been the team's most consistent hitter, batting .324 with three doubles, a home run, and seven runs batted in. Jacob Lamb is right behind him with a .316 batting average along with two home runs and six runs driven in. On the mound, Jacob Clem has been the team's best starting pitcher, currently holding a 0-1 record with a 2.76 earned run average and 10 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings of work. Jeff Brigham has been the Huskies' best reliever so far this season with a 1-0 record, one save, and a 1.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts in nine innings of work.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 110th meeting all time between Seattle University and the University of Washington, with the Huskies holding a 59-50 series advantage. The teams first met twice in the 1903 season, with Washington winning both games (13-1 and 9-3). Seattle U would take all three meetings in th 1910 campaign. There is no record of the teams meeting again until the 1952 season, where Seattle U won both meetings on its way to its only NCAA Tournament appearance. With the exception of the 1958 season, there is a record of Seattle U and Washington meeting at least once, most years more than once, from 1952 until 1986, Seattle U's last season of baseball before dropping it as a sport. Washington has won 19 straight games over Seattle U since May 9, 1979, when Seattle U earned a 25-3 home victory. Last season these two teams met three times, with the Huskies winning three close games (5-2, 6-5, 5-2).
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S: The Saints enter Wednesday's game with a 5-10 record after winning three of four games at Northwest Nazarene this past weekend. As a team, Saint Martin's has posted a .234 batting average, a .966 fielding percentage, and a 4.64 earned run average. Andrew Elke leads the Saints with a .313 batting average, 10 runs scored, and eight stolen bases. Aaron Johnson is batting .260 with six doubles, two home runs, 11 RBI, 11 walks, and four stolen bases. On the mound, Casey Mitchell is 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings of work. The key for Seattle U may be to get into the Saint bullpen, as nobody who has made a majority of their appearances in a relief role has lower than a 4.26 ERA.
SCOUTING PACIFIC LUTHERAN: The Lutes will come into Saturday's game with a 5-7 record after losing two of three to George Fox last weekend. As a team, Pacific Lutheran currently has a .277 batting average, a .961 fielding percentage, and a 5.30 earned run average. Jaron Iwakami leads the way with a .371 batting average, but all 13 of his hits have been singles. Corey Moore is batting .294 and leads the team with 15 hits, 10 runs scored, four doubles, 10 RBI, and three stolen bases. The starting pitching for the Lutes has been solid, led by Max Beatty with a 2-0 record, a 1.23 ERA, and 14 strikeouts. Scott Wall is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA, two complete games, and 18 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings pitched. Again, the key might be to take the starter out of the game, as no reliever has lower than a 4.70 ERA.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: The improvement of the Seattle University baseball team has been immediate as the 2011 season enters its fourth week. The Redhawks never had a winning record at any time last season, but this year they are two games over .500 after 10 games. Seattle U only won a two-game set over BYU last season and split a four-game series against Saint Mary's at the end of the year, losing all other three- and four-game series it played. This year, the Redhawks split a four-game series with Cal State Northridge and won two of three games over both Notre Dame and Portland. The improvement can been seen mostly in the pitching and defense, two areas the coaching staff emphasized since the end of the 2010 campaign. Last season the Redhawks finished with a .956 fielding percentage and a 6.80 earned run average. So far this season, Seattle U has earned a .979 fielding percentage and a 2.70 earned run average. This week will be another test into how much Seattle U has improved. Last season the Redhawks lost all three games to the Washington Huskies, plus suffered a 21-7 loss to Saint Martin's and a 6-0 defeat to Pacific Lutheran.
SPRING SWING: The second annual Spring Swing Golf Tournament to benefit the baseball program will take place Friday, March 11, at the Glen Acres Golf and Country Club, located at 1000 South 112th Street in Seattle. Registration begins at 1 p.m., with the shotgun start set for 2 p.m. Entry fee is $125 per person and includes greens fees, range balls, dinner, and cocktails. People can also attend the dinner only for $50, and hole sponsorships are also available. For more information, contact Eva Levingrub at 206-296-2820.