In a hard-fought game between two in-state rivals, Washington State capitalized on its scoring chances late in the game and held off Seattle University, 8-6, Monday night at Everett Memorial Stadium.
Down 4-3 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, the Cougars stayed alive in the inning when Derek Jones was hit by a pitch from Seattle U starter Brandon Kizer (Marysville, Wash.). Adam Nelubowich followed with a home run over the wall in right field to pull Washington State ahead, 5-4.
Washington State (21-16) added to its lead in the eighth inning, again putting together a rally with two outs as P.J. Jones reached on an infield single, Kyle Johnson doubled to left field, and Patrick Claussen walked to load the bases. Eric Yardley (Richland, Wash.) came on in relief of Jake Chutney (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) and induced a ground ball up the middle by Taylor Ard, but Claussen beat out Nick Latta's (Tacoma, Wash.) throw to second base, allowing Jones and a hustling Johnson to score.
In the ninth inning, Jones led off with a walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a single up the middle by Ian Sagdal. The Redhawks cut into the Cougar lead in the bottom of the ninth inning when Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) led off with a double and pinch hitter Michael Tevlin (Billings, Mont.) followed with a home run to deep right field, but Washington State reliever Spencer Jackson came on and retired the next three batters in order to pick up the save.
Seattle U took the lead in the top of the first inning as Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.) doubled to left-center field, advanced to third on a single by Zach Aaker (Ravensdale, Wash.), and scored on a wild pitch thrown by Cougar starter Kyle Swannack. Washington State answered with two runs in the second inning, the second on a successful double steal in which Johnson broke for second, drawing the attention of the Redhawk defense, allowing Jason Monda to cross the plate.
Claussen scored on a Nelubowich single in the top of the fifth inning to increase Washington State's lead to 3-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Roberts singled, Jace Sloan (Puyallup, Wash.) walked, and Latta reached base on a bunt single to load the bases. With one out, Trent Oleszczuk (Beaverton, Ore.) drove home Roberts with a sacrifice fly, and Somers followed with a triple into the right field corner, scoring both Sloan and Latta to give the Redhawks a 4-3 lead.
Kizer took the loss for the Redhawks, allowing nine hits, one walk, and five runs in seven innings of work, plus he hit two batters, both of whom came around to score. Kellen Camus was credited with the victory for Washington State, pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up two hits, one walk, and two runs with three strikeouts of his own.
Somers, Aaker, and Roberts earned two hits apiece to lead Seattle U offensively. For Washington State, Jones was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Claussen and Nelubowich each finished with two hits in the game.
Seattle University (19-17) heads south to face the Portland Pilots Wednesday, April 25, starting at 3 p.m. Dan Giuliani will broadcast the game live on GoSeattleU.com.