BACK TO BASEBALL: The combination of a rainout and a scheduled weekend off led to a full week without a game for Seattle University, a span that will end with a five-game homestand at Bannerwood Park this week. First, the Redhawks welcome fellow Jesuit school Santa Clara for a two-game midweek series. After that, Nevada comes to town for a three-game weekend series. These will be the final home games for the Redhawks until the end of May.
PROBABLE STARTERS
- Tuesday, May 1: LHP Garrett Anderson (6-2, 3.02 ERA) vs. RHP James Smith (1-0, 4.88 ERA)
- Wednesday, May 2: RHP Bryan Dalton (1-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Tommy Nance (4-3, 3.24 ERA)
- Friday, May 4: RHP Brandon Kizer (3-4, 4.55 ERA) vs. RHP Bradey Shipley (7-3, 2.27 ERA)
- Saturday, May 5: RHP Seafth Howe (3-3, 3.19 ERA) vs. RHP Tom Jameson (6-1, 1.84 ERA)
- Sunday, May 6: TBA vs. TBA
WHERE TO CATCH THE ACTION: Besides live stats, Dan Giuliani will broadcast the games on the Seattle U athletics website, with video accompanying the audio broadcast as long as the weather cooperates. Giuliani will begin his broadcasts with the pregame show approximately 20-25 minutes before the scheduled first pitch each game.
SCHEDULE CHANGES: First, the time of the Saturday, May 5 game between Seattle U and Nevada is now 2 p.m., not 6 p.m. as listed on the schedule cards and posters. Next, due to the KingCo playoffs scheduled to be held at Bannerwood Stadium, the schedule for the final weekend series of the season against Portland has been adjusted. The game on Friday, May 25, will now begin at 1 p.m., not 6 p.m. as originally listed. The start times for the games on Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27, will remain the same, but those contests will now be played at Bellevue College's Courter Field. Because of the change in site for the final two games, Senior Day is now scheduled for the Friday contest at Bannerwood Stadium.
FORECAST: As of Monday, April 30, the forecast calls for cloudy conditions with a 30% chance of showers Tuesday night with temperatures in the 40s. Wednesday calls for morning showers with temperatures rising into the 50s. There is a 40% chance of rain Friday with temperatures falling into the 40s. The weather improves over the weekend, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-to-high 50s.
MR. CONSISTENT: Senior Trent Oleszczuk has started every game at second base and in the leadoff spot for the Redhawks this season. He reached base safely in each of the first 15 games of the season and has now put together another streak of 12 straight games reaching base safely.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos come into Tuesday's game with a 20-20 overall record after losing two of three to Saint Mary's over the weekend. Santa Clara is now ninth in the WCC with a 3-12 league record. As a team, the Broncos have combined for a .271 batting average, a .974 fielding percentage, and a 3.88 earned run average. Pat Stover is the player to watch at the plate for Santa Clara, posting a .297 batting average and leading the Broncos with 44 hits, 23 runs scored, eight doubles, five home runs, and 28 runs batted in, plus he has stolen eight bases. Matt Ozanne is the team leader in stolen bases with 11, plus he is batting .301 with 37 hits, including five doubles, one triple, and three home runs. On the mound, Max Deering is 2-2 with a 2.87 earned run average and three saves in 20 appearances, all out of the bullpen. Paul Twining is 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA and seven saves with 20 of his 22 appearances coming out of the bullpen. These will be the first meetings between Seattle U and Santa Clara since the Redhawks reinstated baseball as an NCAA sport.
SCOUTING NEVADA: The Wolf Pack are 24-19 as they conclude their own five-game homestand with a game against Saint Mary's Tuesday. Nevada took two of three from Fresno State and is now 7-5 in Western Athletic Conference games, good enough for a tie for second place in the league standings. As a team, Nevada has combined for a .289 batting average, a .971 fielding percentage, and a 4.10 earned run average. Brooks Klein is the team's leading hitter, batting .338 with 51 hits, including nine doubles, four triples, and eight home runs for a .609 slugging percentage, plus he has driven in 37 runs and drawn 19 walks. Carlos Escobar, Jr. has a team-high 14 doubles to go along with four home runs and 31 RBI, while Joe Kohan leads the squad with five triples. On the mound, Bradey Shipley will be bringing a 7-3 record with a 2.27 earned run average into Friday's start, plus Tom Jameson will start Saturday's game with a 6-1 record and a 1.84 ERA. Matt Gardner is the team's closer, bringing an 0-1 record with a 2.29 ERA and nine saves into the week.
SEATTLE U VS. NEVADA: The Redhawks and the Wolf Pack have met nine times over the first two seasons of Seattle U's baseball rebirth. In 2010, Nevada won all six games over Seattle U, first sweeping the Redhawks in a three-game series in Reno April 1-3. The Wolf Pack then visited Bannerwood Park April 16-18 and dominated the first two games (11-5 and 22-0) before completing the weekend sweep with a 4-1 victory. Last season in Reno, Seattle U broke through with an 8-7 victory April 8 and was in the lead the next day, but Nevada came back for an 11-10 victory and won the series with a 2-0 win April 10.
THE REST OF THE SEASON: After the five-game homestand, Seattle U is scheduled to play eight straight road games, starting with a doubleheader at Central Michigan (20-25) Wednesday, May 9. The Redhawks will then head to Columbus, Ohio, for a three-game series at Ohio State (24-20) May 11-13. Seattle U returns to the Pacific Northwest for its final road series of the 2012 season May 18-20 at the Oregon Ducks (30-13), currently ranked #7 by Collegiate Baseball and #10 by Baseball America. The final four games are in Bellevue for the Redhawks, starting with the rubber game of the season-long three-game series against Washington (23-18) May 22 before a three-game set against Portland (23-16) May 25-27.