The Seattle University Redhawks nearly came all the way back from a five-run deficit, but the Santa Clara Broncos held on in the last two innings for a 7-6 victory Friday night in the 2013 baseball season opener for both teams at Stephen Schott Stadium.
After the first seven batters were set down in order, Cash McGuire (Kent, Wash.) was hit by a pitch with one out in the third inning, and Landon Cray (Chimacum, Wash.) followed with a triple that brought home McGuire with Seattle U's first run of the season. Cray would hustle home on a sacrifice fly to left field by Cullen Hendrickson (Auburn, Wash.) to increase the Redhawks' lead to 2-0.
Santa Clara (1-0) broke through in the fourth inning, starting with a one-out infield single by Quinton Perry, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch from Redhawk starter Andrew Olson (Enumclaw, Wash.). T.J. Braff drove in Perry with a single to right field, and Matt Ozanne followed with a double to right field to put runners on second and third with one out. Braff would score on a sacrifice fly by Casey Munoz to tie the game at 2-2.
The Broncos took the lead in the sixth inning as Greg Harisis led off with an infield single and Perry walked, chasing Olson from the game. After Redhawk reliever Ben Ruff (Fife, Wash.) forced out Harisis at third on an attempted sacrifice bunt, Ozanne singled to drive in Perry, and Kyle DeMerritt was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Braff scored on a wild pitch to increase the Santa Clara lead to 4-2.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Kert Woods and Justin Viele notched back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third, and a balk committed by Mason Stidham (Star, Idaho) allowed Woods to score Santa Clara's fifth run of the game. Harisis walked and Perry singled to load the bases, and Braff would drive in Viele with a walk off Seattle U reliever Evan Ewing (Spokane, Wash.). Perry would score when Munoz was able to avoid the double play on a grounder to second base, making the score 7-2 in favor of Santa Clara.
Seattle U put together a rally as Cray led off with a walk, Hendrickson reached on an infield single, and Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out in the eighth inning. Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.) drew a walk to score Cray and chase Bronco starter Mike Couch from the game.
Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) drove in Hendrickson with a sacrifice fly to right field, and Roberts would score on a wild pitch by reliever Reece Karalus to bring Seattle U to within two at 7-5. Sean Narby (Auburn, Wash.) walked to load the bases with two outs, but Max Deering was able to strike out pinch hitter Nick Latta (Tacoma, Wash.) to end the Redhawk threat.
In the ninth inning, Santa Clara would hurt its own cause by committing an error and a wild pitch to allow Cray to reach second base. After two outs, Somers laced a single to left-center field to drive in Cray and Brian Olson drew a walk, but D.J. Zapata closed out the game by striking out Redhawk pinch hitter Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.).
Couch picked up the victory for the Broncos, allowing five runs, four hits, and three walks in seven innings while striking out five batters. Andrew Olson took the loss for the Redhawks, giving up four runs, four hits, and three walks in five innings of work.
Cray made an impressive debut for Seattle U, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a triple, three runs scored, and one run batted in. For Santa Clara, Perry went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, while Ozanne also picked up two hits along the way.
Seattle University (0-1) continues the three-game series at Santa Clara Saturday, Feb. 16, starting at 3 p.m., with freshman righthander Ted Hammond (Shoreline, Wash.) scheduled to start for the Redhawks. Dan Giuliani will broadcast the game live on GoSeattleU.com beginning with the pregame show approximately 20 minutes before first pitch.