One big inning allowed Sacramento State to take the lead, and Seattle University's comeback efforts fell a little short as the Hornets held on to defeat the Redhawks, 6-5, Saturday afternoon in baseball action at John Smith Field.
Seattle U had a chance to take the early lead as Trent Oleszczuk (Beaverton, Ore.) led off the game with a single, followed by a walk to Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) and a single by Doug Kincaid (Portland, Ore.) to load the bases with one out. However, Bryndon Ecklund (Elma, Wash.) hit a ball right to Hornet second baseman Andrew Ayers, who started an inning-ending double play.
Bryan Dalton (Vancouver, Wash.) got off to a great start, setting down the first 14 batters he faced in order before Clay Cederquist singled with two outs in the fifth inning. Through the first five innings, Dalton had struck out five Hornet batters and only issued three balls to a batter three times.
Sacramento State (3-3) broke through in the sixth inning, as Scotty Burcham was hit by a pitch, Ayers walked, and Justin Higley singled to load the bases with one out. Derrick Chung's grounder was mishandled by Redhawk shortstop Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.), allowing Burcham to score, and Will Soto followed with a ground-rule double that drove in Ayers and Higley. After Chung scored on a groundout from pinch hitter Greg Meyer, Cederquist drove in Soto with a single to increase the Hornets' lead to 5-0.
Seattle U responded in the top of the seventh, as Zach Aaker (Ravensdale, Wash.) drew a leadoff walk, Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.) singled, and Oleszczuk was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Hendrickson drove in Aaker with an infield single, and Roberts reached on an error by Hornet pitcher Tanner Mendonca, allowing Somers to score and cut the Redhawk deficit to three at 5-2.
Sacramento State scored a key run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Meyer singled, advanced to third base on back-to-back wild pitches by Redhawk reliever Mason Stidham (Star, Idaho), and scored on a single by Cederquist.
In the top of the ninth, Somers led off with a single and Oleszczuk was again hit by a pitch. Hendrickson sent a shot down the right field line for a double, scoring Somers. Oleszczuk scored when Brennan Leitao committed a balk, advancing Hendrickson to third. Hornet closer R.J. Davis came into the game and induced a flyout from Roberts which drove Hendrickson in. Davis earned his second save in as many games when he forced Kincaid to ground out to Cederquist.
Hendrickson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in, while Somers went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. For Sacramento State, Cederquist went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Higley finished the game 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Seattle University (3-3) will look to end the three-game series on a positive note in the final game of the weekend set against Sacramento State Sunday, Feb. 25, starting at 11:30 a.m.