STUDY BREAK: After a week of finals, the Seattle University baseball team is ready to hit the field for a four-game series against San Jose State this weekend. Because of inclement weather, the Redhawks have not played since March 8, a span of ten days which can seem like an eternity during the season. Meanwhile, the Spartans have gotten off to a good start this season after going 23-37 in 2010.
THE WASHINGTON GAME: A bases-clearing double by Doug Kincaid in the third inning and solid relief pitching led to a historic win for the Seattle University baseball team, as it defeated the University of Washington, 4-2, March 8 at Husky Ballpark. The win was the first by Seattle University over Washington in baseball since May 9, 1979, snapping a 19-game winning streak by the Huskies over Seattle U. It was also the first victory by any Redhawk team over a Washington squad since Seattle U started the Division I reclassification process in 2008. Husky starter Jacob Clem set down the first eight Redhawk batters in order before Bryndon Ecklund broke through with a single to left-center field. Trent Oleszczuk followed with a single through the left side, and Cullen Hendrickson was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Kincaid laced a ball past the right fielder into the corner, clearing the bases and giving the Redhawks a 3-2 lead. Washington threatened again in the bottom of the third, as Joe Meggs singled and Chase Anselment walked. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third base, Conor Spink came on in relief of Dalton and notched a strikeout and a groundout to leave those runners stranded. Spink went on to pitch 3 2/3 innings of relief, allowing only a walk while striking out two Husky batters. However, the bullpen for Washington shut down the Seattle U offense, as Tyler Kane and Adam Cimber each pitched two innings of scoreless relief to keep the Huskies within one run. After the Redhawks added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, Seattle U closer Blaine Jones came on and retired the first two batters before singles by Willy Reel and Ryan Wiggins put runners on first and third. Jones was able to punch out Rogers on a called third strike for his third save of the season, clinching Seattle U's first three-game winning streak since baseball came back last year.
THIS WEEK'S PROBABLE MATCHUPS
Friday, March 18 - 4:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: #55 RHP Max Whieldon - 0-2, 1.59 ERA, 22.2 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 9 SO
San Jose State: #26 RHP Blake McFarland - 3-0, 2.66 ERA, 23.2 IP, 21 H, 7 ER, 7 BB, 20 SO
Saturday, March 19 - 1:00 p.m. start (Game One):
Seattle U: #23 RHP Brandon Kizer - 3-0, 1.35 ERA, 20.0 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO
San Jose State: #34 LHP Roberto Padilla - 3-1, 2.45 ERA, 29.1 IP, 22 H, 8 ER, 10 BB, 22 SO
Saturday, March 19 - TBA start (Game Two):
Seattle U: TBA
San Jose State: #17 RHP Andy Hennessey - 1-1, 4.08 ERA, 17.2 IP, 21 H, 8 ER, 13 BB, 15 SO
Sunday, March 20 - 12:00 p.m. start:
Seattle U: #30 RHP Seafth Howe - 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 18.1 IP, 13 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 6 SO
San Jose State: #23 RHP Sean Martin - 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 13.1 IP, 19 H, 10 ER, 6 BB, 10 SO
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE: The Spartans come into the weekend with a 12-5 record after Tuesday's 10-0 loss to San Francisco at AT&T Park. That snapped a four-game winning streak as San Jose State won the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament with two victories over Wisconsin-Milwaukee as well as wins over UC Davis and Utah. The Spartans also won two of three at UCLA and has three victories over Saint Mary's. As a team, San Jose State has posted a .262 batting average, a .980 fielding percentage, and a 3.90 earned run average. Jacob Valdez leads the team with a .408 batting average. Zach Jones is batting .383 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Danny Stienstra, the only Spartan to start every game so far this season, has 24 hits, including five doubles, and 17 runs batted in. Roberto Padilla has earned two complete games, while Jones leads the team with two saves and 23 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY: These will be the first games between Seattle University and San Jose State in the history of the two programs.
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 and Samuelson will also put together a weekly podcast that accompanies the weekly preview on GoSeattleU.com.
WEATHER FORECAST: As of Wednesday, March 16, the weather should improve as the weekend goes along. There is a 60% chance of rain Friday, with a forecast of showers and highs in the mid-50s. A few scattered showers may remain Saturday, with highs in the low-50s. Sunday calls for scattered showers and temperatures in the mid-50s.
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.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: The improvement of the Seattle University baseball team has been immediate as the 2011 season enters its second month. The Redhawks never had a winning record at any time last season, but this year they are three games over .500 after 11 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 .982 fielding percentage and a 2.64 earned run average.